(Source: Business Wire)
UTEK Corporation (NYSE-AMEX: UTK) (LSE-AIM: UTK), a leading innovation services company, and The wRatings Corporation, an independent stock research firm, announced today the results of their annual Most Competitive Companies in Health Care Study. The study was conducted in a collaborative effort between The wRatings Corporation and Strategos, a strategic innovation consulting division of UTEK. Major highlights from the study include Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) moving from #3 to #1 in 2009, followed by Alcon (NYSE: ACL) and Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY). The largest jump was Cardinal Health (NYSE: CAH), rising from #83 to #12.
Scores from wRatings are a blend of how well companies meet customer expectations while also generating economic profit. The quarterly survey is conducted with a representative sample of US consumers and business executives. The firm has been conducting the surveys since 1999.
Sometimes recessions have a cleansing effect on companies. The current recession has jolted health care in a positive direction in terms of economic profit. Health care companies have doubled their return on capital from 5.1% in 2003 to 10.8% in 2009, on a trailing twelve month basis.
Gary A. Williams, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of wRatings, said, "Sector rotation into many of these safety stocks occurred a while ago. But in stark contrast to other sectors, pricing power with health care customers remains on the upswing in 2009. So in these uncertain times, several health care stocks are on track to continued growth. No doubt this sector will emerge from the recession stronger than before."
Peter Skarzynski, Managing Director of Strategos and Author of Innovation to the Core (HBSP, 2008), notes, "As we saw newcomers challenge and overtake incumbents, we are reminded that R&D spending alone is no assurance for winning. Companies that can successfully challenge industry orthodoxies and innovate at the level of the business model have the best chance of thriving in this turbulent time."
All 111 companies in the study received a W Score, where 100 equals the most competitive nationally.
