Spokane, WA, June 16, 2003 -- The Seattle-Times newspaper has ranked Itron as the region's No. 2 public company in its annual "Northwest 100" list.
The annual report presents an in-depth financial analysis of publicly held companies in Washington, Oregon and Idaho. Flir Systems, a manufacturer of imaging and detection systems based in Portland, took top honors in The Seattle Times' "Northwest 100." Itron was the highest ranked company in Washington State.
Itron chairman and CEO LeRoy Nosbaum commented, "This puts Itron in the ranks of such prestigious and successful Northwest companies as Microsoft, Nike and Starbucks. While we are not the biggest...according to The Seattle-Times we are among the best. It's a tribute to our leadership team, our company's emphasis on quality and customer service, and most importantly - our outstanding employees who make all of this possible. Without them, there is no Itron."
In selecting the "Northwest 100," Seattle-Times business editors evaluated a wide variety of financial criteria, including growth and profitability, market value, return on equity and assets, PE and debt/equity ratios and others. Itron ranked 24th in last year's "Northwest 100" ranking.
About 175 public companies with headquarters in Washington, Idaho and Oregon were in the running. To qualify for consideration, the final 109 had to trade above $2.00 at all times, were public for at least two full years and were listed on the New York, American or NASDAQ stock exchanges. Data was derived from Bloomberg News, as well as the companies themselves.
The ranking is derived using The Seattle-Times' proprietary weighting system that takes into consideration a variety of financial variables. Itron also Honored by Washington CEO Magazine Itron recently received third-place honors among the state's largest companies in Washington CEO Magazine's 2003 "Best Companies to Work For" competition.
In selecting the top companies, the judges evaluated a variety of criteria and statistics, including hiring and retention practices, communication, benefits, leadership, education and work environment. In addition, Itron employees, based in Washington State, were asked to voluntarily participate in a confidential survey.
According to the results, employees gave Itron high marks in several areas, including: training and education, community involvement and leadership.
This was Itron's first entry in the "Best Company" competition and according to Randi Neilson, Itron's vice-president of Marketing and IT, the results were gratifying, "Employees said they appreciate Itron's investment in learning and growth, as well as the company's commitment to corporate philanthropy and community relations. The best companies are made up of great people. At Itron, we have 1,500 employees who work together everyday to help achieve our company vision and goals, deliver value to our customers, give back to our communities, respect each other and have fun."
About Itron
Itron is a technology provider and critical source of knowledge to the global energy and water industries. More than 2,800 utilities worldwide rely on Itron technology to deliver the knowledge they require to optimize the delivery and use of energy and water.
Itron delivers value to its clients by providing industry-leading solutions for meter data collection, energy information management, demand side management and response, load forecasting, analysis and consulting services, transmission and distribution system design and optimization, web-based workforce automation, C&I customer care and residential energy management. To know more, start here: www.itron.com.
