Amityville company makes Fortune magazine list

An Amityville manufacturer is among the world's fastest-growing public companies, according to Fortune magazine.

Hi-Tech Pharmacal Co., maker of generic and prescription drugs, placed third out of 100 companies on the magazine's 2011 list in the Sept. 26 issue. The rankings of the fastest growing are based on sales growth, earnings per share and total return to shareholders over the past three years.

Hi-Tech Pharmacal was the only area company to make the 2011 list; no local companies were on last year's list.

The popularity of its fluticasone propionate nasal spray helped Hi-Tech Pharmacal's sales post a three-year annual growth rate of 51 percent, the 11th best among the 100. The steroid spray, on the market for about three years, helps treat allergies.

The strong sales have produced an earnings-per-share annual growth rate of 234 percent, the third highest out of 100. And total return on the company's stock increased 42 percent annually in the period for 23rd place.

"We've been growing very rapidly in the last few years," said Bill Peters, Hi-Tech Pharmacal's chief financial officer. "We're very pleased to be on this list."

Peters said the fluticasone spray is among an array of generic drugs that account for 82 percent of the company's sales. It also makes prescription medicines and products for diabetics. He said the products are only sold domestically. "We're focused on growing the company internally . . . All of our generic products are made in Amityville," Peters said.

Hi-Tech Pharmacal employs 400 people, including about 300 locally. In August, state officials announced support for the company's plan to add 40,000 square feet of space to its Amityville plant. The project will receive $1.5 million in grants in return for creating 125 jobs.