Hometown Glory
Land of innovators: National mag ranks Houston firms among the most cutting edgein the world
Need another excuse to brag about Houston? Three locally-based entities rank among the World's Most Innovative Companies, according to a new list compiled by Forbes Magazine in collaboration with Hal Gregersen and Jeff Dyer, the authors of The Innovator's DNA.
Houston's FMC Technologies, a company that designs, manufactures and services systems and products for the oil and gas industry, ranks No. 13 worldwide (and No. 7 in America) in terms of innovation.
In the ranking process, analysts recognized that the top companies share a tendency to "leverage people, process, and philosophies" to keep innovation alive.
The company has seen 29.8 percent sales growth over the past year, plus 18.4 percent five-year annualized total return and a 40.7 percent innovation premium, a methodology that takes into account projected cash flows from existing businesses, anticipated growth from those businesses and the net present value of the cash flows.
Cameron International, another Houston-based oil and gas company, ranks No. 72 with a 15.2 percent 12-month sales growth, an 8.5 percent five-year annualized return and 21.6 innovation premium.
At No. 73, exploration and production giant Anadarko Petroleum falls just behind the former with an 11.8 percent 12-month sales growth, an 8.4 percent five-year annualized total return and a 21.4 innovation premium.