The 20th annual PROFIT 100 ranking: three Atlantic-Canadian companies among Canada's Fastest-Growing

    PROFIT magazine's annual ranking demonstrates how entrepreneurs can
    combine a big vision with tight focus to achieve explosive expansion in
    any industry and economy. For the full ranking, visit www.profit100.com

    TORONTO, June 2 /CNW/ - Only a select few firms achieve the dramatic
growth required to make it onto the PROFIT 100, the definitive annual ranking
of Canada's Fastest-Growing Companies released today by PROFIT magazine.
    It's not enough to have posted a hot year or two, because the PROFIT 100
is based on revenue growth over five years. Making just the tail end of this
year's ranking-the 20th annual-required an explosive growth rate of 627% from
2002 to 2007. And the average PROFIT 100 company grew its revenue by a
sizzling 1,800%. Clearly, it takes something exceptional to rank among the
entrepreneurial elite of the PROFIT 100.
    Of the 200 firms that rank among Canada's Fastest-Growing Companies,
three are from Atlantic Canada. They're a diversified lot. One is a commercial
and industrial construction company, one does quality-assurance testing on
software in development, and one distributes weapon sights.
    "The PROFIT 100 are role models for anyone who wants to expand their
business domestically or internationally," says Ian Portsmouth, editor of
PROFIT. "All entrepreneurs can take great lessons from the product
development, human resources and marketing practices of Canada's
Fastest-Growing Companies."Atlantic Canada's top 3 performers among Canada's Fastest-Growing
    Companies:
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    Overall                                                          Revenue
    Rank in                                                           growth
    Canada   Company/Industry                    Location         2002-07 (%)
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    16       Armament Technology Inc.
             Weapon-sight distributor            Halifax               2,738
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    35       PQA (Professional Quality
             Assurance Ltd.)
             Software quality-assurance testing  Fredericton           1,709
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    144      Rice Contracting Ltd.               Moncton                 401
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------For the full ranking and breakdown of the PROFIT 100, visit
www.profit100.com.

    About PROFIT

    PROFIT: Your Guide to Business Success is Canada's preeminent publication
dedicated to the management issues and opportunities facing small and
mid-sized businesses. For more than 25 years, Canadian entrepreneurs across a
vast array of economic sectors have remained loyal to PROFIT because it's a
timely and reliable source of actionable information that helps them increase
their revenues, boost their profitability and get the recognition they deserve
for generating positive economic and social change. Published six times a year
by Rogers Publishing Ltd., PROFIT is distributed almost exclusively to the
chief executives of companies with 5 to 250 employees and annual revenue of
$1 million to $25 million, reaching more than 300,000 readers across Canada.
Visit PROFIT online at http://www.profitmagazine.ca.