Jan. 1--Most Richmond-area companies couldn't escape the stock market slaughter of 2008, posting large declines for the year.

The Bloomberg-created index of the 20 largest publicly traded companies with headquarters in the Richmond area ended the year down 40.45 percent.

That was worse than three widely used stock indices. The Dow Jones industrial average and the Standard & Poor's 500 index ended the year down 33.84 percent and 38.5 percent, respectively. The Nasdaq composite index fell 40.5 percent during 2008.

"It was a very difficult year for Richmond as a community," said Michael Jones, chairman and chief investment officer at Riverfront Investment Group in Richmond. Even companies that performed well financially during the year saw their stocks hammered as investors fled market turmoil, he said.

The Richmond index posted a 4.5 percent decline in 2007. It rose almost 28 percent in 2006.

Only two companies on the index saw gains for 2008. James River Coal Co.'s stock was up 37 percent for the year, and plastics and aluminum extrusions maker Tredegar Corp. was up 13 percent.

Other companies on the index posted declines of between 11 percent and 99.7 percent. Four companies had declines of greater than 90 percent, including three -- electronics retailer Circuit City Stores Inc., packaging company Chesapeake Corp. and insurer LandAmerica Financial Group Inc. -- that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy late in the year.

Media General Inc., owner of the Richmond Times-Dispatch, saw its stock decline 91.8 percent as the economic downturn hurt advertising revenue. The company owns 24 daily newspapers and about 275 weekly newspapers and other publications, 19 network-affiliated television stations, and Web sites affiliated with its print and broadcast properties, mostly in the Southeast.

During the year, the mix of Richmond-based companies changed. Performance Food Group Co. and Hilb Rogal and Hobbs Co. left the list after being acquired. UDR Inc. moved its headquarters. Two companies were added to the list: Altria Group Inc. by moving its headquarters and Colfax Corp., which had an initial public offering. Contact John Reid Blackwell at (804) 775-8123 or jblackwell@timesdispatch.com.

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