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| Canada’s source of corporate R&D intelligence | ||
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For Immediate Release
Toronto - August 28, 2001 - Canada's small and medium sized firms lead the way in research intensity (spending as a percent of revenues), according to Canada's Top Corporate R&D Spenders Report prepared by Research Infosource Inc, publishers of the Top 100 Corporate R&D Spenders List (www.researchinfosource.com).
Small firms, those employing less than 100 people, invested 31.8% of their revenues in R&D in Fiscal 2000, up from 1999's figure of 29.6%. Medium sized companies, those with 100 to 499 employees, put 18.2% of their revenues into R&D in 2000, an increase from 16.2% in 1999. The larger firms, 500 employees or more invested less than 4% of revenues into R&D.
Looking at companies by revenue in Fiscal 2000, again the smallest firms showed the highest research intensity ratios, over 1000% for companies with revenues under $1 million, and less than 3% for those postings revenues of over $1 billion.
For all the companies tracked in the report the overall research intensity figures were in the low single digits: 3.6% in 2000 and 3.5% in 1999.
"High research intensity levels are characteristic of start-ups and early growth companies", says Ron Freedman, CEO of Research Infosource Inc. "The story for Fiscal 2001 is whether these firms will be in a position to maintain high levels of R&D investment in the current economic climate."
Research Infosource follows the R&D activities of the leading companies in Canada through its Canadian Corporate R&D Database which contains information on over 330 firms representing 23 industry sectors. In addition to the Top 100 companies, those that spent $10 million or more on R&D in Fiscal 2000, the database includes 128 companies with R&D spending between $2 million and $9.9 million, called "Tier 2" by Research Infosource, and 101 companies posting R&D expenditures of less than $ 2 million, designated "Tier 3" in the report.
Dividing the companies by R&D investment, the Top 100 companies dominated overall spending, accounting for 94% of the total in 2000. Although their R&D investment grew by 28.5%, these companies showed a slight decrease in research intensity, moving from 4.5% in 1999 to 4.4% in 2000, a percent change of -2.2%. "Tier 2" companies, representing 6% of the total R&D outlay in 2000, increased their R&D investments by 23%, and showed an increase in research intensity from 0.8% in 1999 to 1.0% in 2000, a jump of 25%. The picture for "Tier 3" firms is slightly disappointing. Accounting for 1% of total R&D expenditures, Tier 3 spending fell by 7%. Research intensity ratios also dropped from 1.9% in 999 to 1.5% in 2000, a decrease of 21.1%.
Research Infosource Inc. is a division of The Impact Group, one of Canada's leading consulting firms specializing in strategic planning, policy analysis & development, research & evaluation, communications & marketing, and training & education, for organizations concerned with science, technology, and innovation. The complete Canada's Top Corporate R&D Spenders Report is available for purchase at www.researchinfsource.com.
Information: Ron Freedman, CEO, Research Infosource Inc.(416) 481-7070 ext. 31 |
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