Big50 companies complete a questionnaire that includes basic data about their financial performance and company structure. We've compiled the data and computed the averages, then selected the most interesting results to present here. Compare your numbers to see how you stack up against some of the industry's best-performing remodeling firms.
Extreme Success. As was the case last year, average margins and net profits (both single- and five-year) are much better for the smallest and largest companies. Low margins for firms in the $2 million to $6 million range suggests a problem with slippage (the difference between estimated versus actual performance).
| Revenue & Margin |
5-YEAR AVERAGES | ||||
| COMPANY SIZE | 2004 TOTAL PRODUCED SALES | 2004 MARGIN | 2004 NET PROFIT | PRODUCED MARGIN | NET PROFIT |
| Under $1M |
$789,165
|
36.1%
|
14.6%
|
33.7%
|
11.7%
|
| $1M – $2M |
$1,396,075
|
26.4%
|
4.3%
|
26.5%
|
5.1%
|
| $2M – $3M |
$2,390,251
|
18.7%
|
4.6%
|
19.3%
|
3.9%
|
| $3M – $6M |
$4,140,000
|
20.7%
|
3.0%
|
24.4%
|
3.4%
|
| Over $6M |
$16,033,333
|
42.6%
|
13.4%
|
39.7%
|
12.3%
|
| All | $2,904,949 | 24.2% | 6.1% | 24.4% | 5.0% |
High Producers. Field productivity is highest among the largest companies. This is partly because this group includes some high-volume replacement contractors. But it's interesting to note that the largest companies have the lowest ratio of office to field personnel – 1:1.28. Maybe more office support pays off.
| People and Productivity |
NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES
|
REVENUE PER EMPLOYEE
|
||
|
COMPANY SIZE
|
FIELD
|
OFFICE
|
FIELD
|
OFFICE
|
| Under $1M |
3.8
|
1.7
|
$207,675
|
$473,499
|
| $1M – $2M |
4.5
|
1.7
|
$307,958
|
$814,377
|
| $2M – $3M |
10.0
|
3.2
|
$239,025
|
$751,222
|
| $3M – $6M |
13.0
|
6.0
|
$323,438
|
$739,286
|
| Over $6M |
32.3
|
25.3
|
$495,876
|
$632,895
|
| All |
9.4
|
4.3
|
$310,301
|
$679,225
|
Growing Pains. Growth for the last two years has been strong, especially for larger businesses, which have the systems and capital in place to sustain growth of 30% or more. For this group, owner salaries jump when revenue tops $3 million, although owners of well-run small companies pocket a healthy percentage of total revenue.
| Growth Rate* | ||
| COMPANY SIZE |
1 YEAR (2003-2004)
|
2 YEARS (2002-2004)
|
|
Under $1M
|
24.2%
|
21.9%
|
|
$1M – $2M
|
25.1%
|
29.1%
|
|
$2M – $3M
|
32.0%
|
65.8%
|
|
$3M – $6M
|
18.6%
|
36.5%
|
|
Over $6M
|
55.3%
|
120.0%
|
|
All
|
35.4%
|
68.9%
|
| * These values include only companies showing positive growth. Two companies were smaller in 2004 than the year before. One, an under-$1-million company, trimmed it's volume in 2004 by 43.7%. The other, a $1.3 million company, was 7.1% smaller in 2004. | ||
| Owner Compensation | |
|
OWNER SALARY
|
PERCENT OF REVENUE
|
|
$113,007
|
14.3%
|
|
$102,453
|
7.3%
|
|
$124,395
|
5.2%
|
|
$184,130
|
4.4%
|
|
$377,333
|
2.4%
|
|
$135,779
|
4.7%
|
Learn and Earn. None of these companies is stingy about spending for training. While average spending is well under 1% of revenue, maximum spending indicates the value some of these companies place on education. Average amount spent per employee is probably the best benchmark because it equalizes the effect of total revenue and number of employees.
| Training Investment | ||||
| COMPANY SIZE | AVERAGE SPENT | PERCENT OF REVENUE | SPENT PER EMPLOYEE | MAXIMUM SPENDING |
| Under $1M |
$3,174
|
0.4%
|
$581
|
$7,768
|
| $1M – $2M |
$9,780
|
0.7%
|
$1,565
|
$28,314
|
| $2M – $3M |
$8,418
|
0.4%
|
$639
|
$23,000
|
| $3M – $6M |
$8,850
|
0.2%
|
$481
|
$20,000
|
| Over $6M |
$90,333
|
0.6%
|
$1,566
|
$250,000
|
| All |
$13,545
|
0.5%
|
$993
|
$250,000
|
