2014 TSX Venture 50: Opportunities in Technology and Life Sciences

Every year a the TMX Group compiles a list 50 of the strongest performers on the TSX Venture Exchange. The list takes a look at ten companies across five (clean technology, diversified industries, oil and gas, mining and life science and technology), measuring the companies’ performance against four equally weighted criteria: market capitalization growth, share price appreciation, trading volume and analyst coverage.
Based on the aforementioned criteria, the TMX Group believes that the achievements of the 2014 TSX Venture 50 companies provide strong evidence of opportunities within the market. Below is an overview of the companies that were selected as the 10 best performers for mining in 2013.
LX Ventures Inc. (TSXV:LXV)
LX Ventures, formerly known as Intensity Company Inc., is based in Canada. It acquires, integrates and develops early-stage high growth technology companies from around the globe. Companies that join its portfolio can access its network of entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and more. It has two subsidiaries, Mobio and Sosido. Its acquisition of Copper Cloud Inc. was completed in early 2014, and its acquisition of Strutta occurred around the same time. All of these companies are profitable, according to the company’s fact sheet. According to the LX Ventures website, there have been more than $2 billion worth of successful exits within the last six years.
Sphere 3D Corporation (TSXV:ANY)
Sphere 3D provides cloud solutions to integrate technology in an organization across a variety of devices. It is a virtualization solution provider that makes it possible for incompatible devices and applications to work over the cloud. Over the past year, it announced its agreement to acquire V3 Systems, an industry leader in desktop cloud management. V3 created solutions for virtual desktop interfaces to which Sphere 3D will now have access. It also signed an agreement with Corel to become a value added reseller and distributor and presented at a variety of conferences.
“We are honored to be recognized as one of the top 10 ranked companies in the TSX Venture’s Technology and Life Sciences section and a member of the 2014 TSX Venture 50 companies,” said Peter Tassiopoulos, CEO of Sphere 3D, in a press release.
FLYHT Aerospace Solutions Ltd. (TSXV:FLY)
FLYHT Aerospace Solutions Ltd. was formerly known as AeroMechanical Services Ltd. It designs, develops and provides services to the global aerospace industry, including the Automated Flight Information Reporting System, FLYHT Fuel Management System and Underfloor Stowage Unit. Over the past year, FLYHT signed several new contracts, including one with its first South American customer. It also introduced a new product, the Dragon system for satellite communications that works on the iPad. The business jet, helicopter and small aircraft market demanded a workable solution for satellite communications, in response to which FLYHT built Dragon, according to a release.
BSM Technologies Inc. (TSXV:GPS)
BSM Technologies provides fleet management, fleet diagnostics and automated vehicle security systems as well as GPS-based vehicle monitoring and control systems. In the past year, the company was awarded a contract with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority of New York to provide its services to the Long Island Rail Road, the Metro-North Railroad and Bridges & Tunnels. It was also awarded a contract with a Fortune Global 500 company. BSM Technologies reported a record 39 percent revenue growth in fiscal year 2013, according to releases on the company website. Aside from the contracts already mentioned, BSM Technologies also increased its share of the energy services market in 2013.
Zecotek Photonics Inc. (TSXV:ZMS)
Zecotek Photonics Inc. develops laser systems, crystals, solid-state photodetectors and other imaging and 3D display technologies for applications in material processing, bio-science and new materials research, as well as the multimedia and security industries. Their products are used by researchers and private sector companies alike. The company has two wholly-owned subsidiaries, Zecotek Photonics Singapore Pte. Ltd and Zecotek Medical Systems AG in Switzerland. In the past year, Zecotek has entered the 3D printing market, made significant sales of many of its products, signed a joint collaboration agreement with Intellectual Ventures and even attracted the interest of CERN.
Wanted Technologies Corporation (TSXV:WAN)
Wanted Technologies Corporation provides business intelligence for clients in the staffing, human resources, media and government industries use this technology to generate leads, source positions, analyze economic conditions and gather intelligence. For fiscal year 2013, the company reported a record annual revenue of $7.2 million and profits of $1.4 million. There were also record quarterly results in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013. The company’s recurring revenue base grew 16 percent as well, according to a release. As of the end of the fiscal year 2013, the company had $3,101,798 in cash and temporary investments, representing an increase of more than $1 million in its liquidity year-over-year.
BioSyent Inc. (TSXV:RX)
BioSyent is a specialty pharmaceutical company. It in-licenses or acquires pharmaceutical products that have already been developed and tested extensively, proven safe and effective. The company acquires exclusive rights to the products it finds and manages them through the Canadian governmental regulatory approval process, and thereafter markets the product throughout Canada. Over the past year, the company has seen sales increase, sent new drugs for regulatory approval and created a new iron supplement, according to press releases. It also signed an exclusive Canadian Licence and Distribution Agreement with a European partner for a women’s health product that already has prior approval from Health Canada. The product has seen success in European markets and BioSyent expects to launch it in Canada in the first half of 2014.
QHR Corporation (TSXV:QHR)
QHR Corporation develops and provides electronic medical records technology for the healthcare industry. It also offers practice management software, mobile electronic medical records access and revenue cycle management services. In 2013, QHR was named one of Canada’s top employers. It also created Canada’s first fully integrated chronic disease management system and secured $1.2 million in new contracts during the year. In the third quarter of 2013, the company reported a 22 percent year-over-year increase in revenue and a 168 percent year-over-year EBITDA increase.
Opsens Inc. (TSXV:OPS)
Opsens Inc. creates fiber optic sensor solutions for use in the life sciences and laboratory sectors, as well as in the oil and gas industry. Its products are compatible with MRI machines and can be miniaturized for medical applications. They are also available for reservoir surveillance to sense temperature and pressure in the energy industry, and the company additionally offers EED temperature measurement for the defense and aerospace sectors. Opsens installed a pressure and temperature sensing system on the Petroleum Technology Research Centre (PTRC) Aquistore CO2 Storage and Monitoring Project in Saskatchewan, Canada in 2013. In fiscal year 2013, the company was listed in the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 Award Program.