J2 Global Communications is one of the few companies that have been performing really well despite the ongoing economic recession.

Based in Hollywood, California, the company operates 16 services that provide online faxing, voice services, and email services to more than 11 million customers. j2 Global's network spans more than 3,000 cities in 46 countries on six continents. The company's brand names marketed by j2 include eFax, jConnect, JFAX, eFax Corporate, UniFax, Onebox, Electric Mail, jBlast, eFax Broadcast, eVoice, PaperMaster, Consensus, M4 Internet, and Protofax. Its most popular service is "eFax", which allows users to send and receive faxes via the Internet.  The company generates all of its revenue from subscribers that pay activation, subscription and usage fees.

The company offers business services that help its customers to become more efficient, more mobile, more cost-effective and more secure than conventional alternatives. This is the exact reason why the company is expected to register strong growth in coming months.  The company's customers don’t just comprise of small businesses anymore, larger businesses too have realized the relevance of the outsourced communications amid economic recession. The company also stands to gain from the fact that political pressure has forced many companies, especially financial to cut down on travel expenses and instead rely on online communication.

Last month, J2 Global Communications Inc. reported fourth-quarter and full year results that beat Wall Street estimates. Net income jumped to $20.3 million, or 45 cents a share, compared with $16.9 million, or 34 cents a share, in the corresponding quarter last year. The company's subscriber revenue grew 8% to $60 million. Quarterly revenue climbed 7% to $61 million.

For the full fiscal year, the company registered a net income of $72.53 million or $1.58 per share compared to a profit of $68.46 million in the previous fiscal year. Revenues increased to $241.51 million, up from $220.70 million in 2007.

Looking ahead into fiscal 2009, the company said it expects modest revenue and earnings growth, inclusive of acquisitions, despite the ongoing global economic crisis.

The company has been able to consistently improve its margin through continued focus on cost containment. It has also deployed a portion of its cash more effectively through stock repurchases and acquisitions.

In February, j2 Global Communications acquired the assets, including the subscriber base, associated with the internet fax technology of CallWave, Inc. (NASDAQ: CALL), a San Francisco-based provider of Internet and mobile based unified communications solutions.

The balance sheet of the company appears solid with $150.79 million in cash and zero debt. At a forward P/E of 10.71 and PEG ratio of 0.93 (5 yr expected), the stock looks relatively cheap. The stock of the company has significantly outperformed S&P 500. Since March 2008, J2 Global has lost only 12.20% while S&P 500 is down 41.53%. Out of 5 analysts tracking the stock, 1 rates it ‘outperform’, two have rated it ‘market  perform’ while one each have rated it a ‘Buy’ and ‘Hold.’

The company should perform well in spite of difficult economic environment and can be a valuable addition to one’s portfolio.

J2 Global fell 65 cents or 3.26% to $19.28 on Wednesday. Shares of the company are down 29.50% from 52 week high of $27.35.

Disclosure: Author does not own any of the stocks discussed here.