The Top 10 Hot Growth Companies
7
W&T Offshore
W&T Offshore began life in 1983 with startup capital of just $12,000. Today the Houston-based oil and gas producer, which sold its first stock to the public in January, sports a market value of $1.2 billion. Company founder and chief executive Tracy W. Krohn has built a fortune through a simple formula: Acquire existing oil fields and leases on the continental shelf in the Gulf of Mexico and drill like crazy, using the latest oil-field technologies.
Five years ago, the company began moving into the deeper waters below 500 feet. Thanks to higher prices for natural gas, the company's earnings have been on fire, up 28% last year to $149 million, on revenues of $508 million. Given recent commodity prices, 2005 could be another gusher.
Company Info
| STOCK INFO | WTI |
| Market Value* | $ 1.3 BILLION |
| Total Return* | (1-yr.) NA
(3-yr.) NA |
| 2004 sales | $ 508.7 MILLION |
| Sales Growth | (1-yr.) 20.4%
(3-yr.) 50.5% |
| Net income* | $ 149.5 MILLION |
| Net Income Growth | (1-yr.) 28.4%
(3-yr.) 93.6% |
| Net Margin* | 29.4% |
| Return on Equity* | 47.3% |
| Return on Invested Capital* | 37.6% |
| Industry | ENERGY |
| CORPORATE WEB SITE | |
*Trailing 12 months
Company data as of 4/29/05
provided by Standard & Poor's Compustat
W&T Offshore Posts 1Q Results (AP)
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Company Snapshot
W&T Offshore Inc. engages in the acquisition, exploitation, and exploration of oil and natural gas properties primarily in the Gulf of Mexico. It owns working interests in approximately 108 fields and 250 offshore structures, and also has interests in leases covering approximately 960,000 acres. It had proved reserves of 444.7 billion cubic feet equivalent of oil and natural gas, as of Dec. 31, 2003. W&T Offshore company was founded by Tracy W. Krohn and Jerome F. Freel in 1983 and is based in Houston.
No. of Employees
133
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