Neogen Again Named to Forbes' List of Best Small Companies

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Oct 21, 2010, 11:45 ET

LANSING, Mich., Oct. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Forbes Magazine has named Neogen Corporation (Nasdaq: NEOG) to its annual list of the Best Small Companies in America for the ninth time in the last 11 years, and the sixth consecutive year.

"We are pleased any time we receive independent recognition of our company's solid performance, and especially when it comes from a source as trusted as Forbes," said James Herbert, Neogen's CEO. "Companies must clear a series of tough hurdles in order to be recognized, and the winners come from virtually every business segment in America."

To qualify for the list, candidates had to be publicly traded for at least a year, have annual revenue of between $5 million and $1 billion, and have a stock price no lower than $5 a share. The rankings are based on earnings growth, sales growth and return on equity in the past 12 months and over five years. Forbes said it dropped companies that are thinly traded and those with "fuzzy" accounting or major legal troubles. Forbes also factored in the stock performance of each company compared with that of its peers.

"Where to find growth in this lifeless economy? Check out Forbes' new list of the 100 Best Small Companies in America," said Forbes' editors in announcing the list. "Some hail from industries of the moment, like health care and mobile phones; others mine more traditional veins, cranking out kitchen stoves and denim jeans. While many of the names may not be familiar, these hardy competitors have racked up remarkable growth over the last challenging five-year stretch."

Being named to the Forbes' list adds to Neogen's recognition from the financial community. Neogen was also recently named to Fortune's list of the "100 Fastest-Growing Companies" for 2010. Fortune's list includes foreign and domestic companies traded on a major U.S. stock exchange with a market capitalization of at least $250 million.

In September, Neogen announced that its revenues for the first quarter of FY 2011, which ended Aug. 31, marked the 70th consecutive profitable quarter from operations for the company, and was the 74th of the past 79 quarters when Neogen reported revenue increases as compared with the previous year. Neogen's first quarter revenues, net income, and earnings per share all represented quarterly records for the 28-year-old company.

Neogen Corporation develops and markets products dedicated to food and animal safety. The company's Food Safety Division markets dehydrated culture media, and diagnostic test kits to detect foodborne bacteria, natural toxins, genetic modifications, food allergens, drug residues, plant diseases and sanitation concerns. Neogen's Animal Safety Division markets a complete line of diagnostics, veterinary instruments, veterinary pharmaceuticals, nutritional supplements, disinfectants, and rodenticides.

SOURCE Neogen Corporation