NP says Avcorp is one example of B.C. small-cap gem Avcorp Industries Inc AVP Shares issued 13,873,623 Mar 25 close $2.30 Fri 26 Mar 99 In the News The National Post reports in its Friday edition that this week, Campney and Murphy, a Vancouver law firm that acts for many publicly traded companies, gathered 18 small-cap firms and had them tell their stories to investors, analysts and brokers. The stories debunk the B.C. image to a degree. These ambitious companies, while based in British Columbia, are able to generate growing revenues from elsewhere in North America and abroad. Avcorp Industries Inc. recently hit a 52-week low of $1.90 a share, down from a high of $4.50, after the company lost money in the first quarter and warned that its "production ramp-up" would deliver losses for two more quarters before the company returns to profitability. The firm, a turnaround story early this decade, has tripled its revenue in four years to $67-million and has a $325-million order backlog. Avcorp's problem is that Bombardier Ltd., one of its main customers, is selling regional jets more quickly than expected. Avcorp, which makes tail assemblies for these aircraft, is stretched in deploying trained manpower. But this is a problem the company thinks it has under control. |