Brisbane Business News uncovers the city's leading companies and the stories behind their success.

11. CROMWELL PROPERTY GROUP (CMW)

REAL ESTATE
Market Cap April 15: $1.65b
CEO: Paul Weightman
HY15 Revenue: $163.6m
H15 Profit: $87.2m
Staff: 70
Listed: 1973

CROMWELL is expecting to close FY15 with a 3 per cent increase in full-year distributions compared to FY14.

In HY15 it took advantage of a rising property market by selling 321 Exhibition Street in Melbourne for $207 million, using $117 million to pay down debt and holding the remainder in cash.

As of December 2014, the group's portfolio was worth $2 billion, with 95 per cent of properties leased.

The portfolio's value grew by $28 million over HY15, although net earnings fell by $104 million. The weighted average lease term was 5.9 years.

The group retains eight properties in Queensland, including HQ North Tower, Energex House, 200 Mary Street, Synergy Building, Health and Forestry House, and Terrace Office Park. Read More

12. VIRGIN AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS (VAH)

TRANSPORTATION
Market Cap April 15: $1.96b
CEO: John Borghetti
HY15 Revenue: $2.38b
H15 Loss: $47.8m
Staff: 9500
Listed: 2003

VIRGIN Australia Holdings Limited has flown back into black after reporting an underlying profit before tax of $55.3 million for the second quarter of the 2015 financial year. 

This result represents a $47.6 million improvement on the prior corresponding period, with the company believing the benefits from falling oil prices will continue to assist with further growth during the second half of the year. 

VAH also reported an increase in domestic capacity of 1.4 per cent from the previous year, while the percentage of seats filled in the domestic market fell by 0.4 percentage points to 78.1 per cent in the second quarter. Read More

13. ENERGY DEVELOPMENTS (ENE)

UTILITIES
Market Cap April 15: $1.61b
CEO: Greg Pritchard
HY15 Revenue: $213.2m
H15 Profit: $19.5m
Staff: 300
Listed: 1993

DESPITE suffering a 6 per cent decline in net profit after tax for the half year, Energy Developments continues to power on.

The energy solutions provider recorded $19.5 million in NPAT and a 14 per cent lift in earnings before interest tax depreciation and amortisation to $96.1 million compared to the previous corresponding period.

Favourable market conditions prompted the company to upgrade its full-year earnings to be in the range of $211 million and $216 million, from between $205 million and $210 million previously.

Energy Developments says the growth will be generated by electricity pricing in Queensland and a lower Australian dollar.

The company has extended a number of key contracts in the past year, as well as maintaining an active pipeline of customer opportunities. Read More

14. A.P. EAGERS (APE)

RETAIL
Market Cap April 15: $1.4b
CEO: Martin Ward
FY14 Revenue: $2.86b (Full-year to December 2014)
F14 Profit: $76.70m (Full-year to December 2014)
Staff: 3000
Listed: 1957

AUSTRALIA'S oldest listed automotive retail group has delivered back-to-back records to shareholders over the past two years. Its preliminary full-year report revealed a 22 per cent increase in NPAT from the previous year.

Used-car profits continued to climb, as did insurance outcomes, and the company expanded its fleet through the acquisitions of the Ian Boettcher Motor Group and the Craig Black Group.

New cars were less sought after by A.P. Eagers' customer base over the course of the calendar year, but luxury brands experienced record annual sales. Read More

15. AVEO GROUP (AOG)

REAL ESTATE
Market Cap April 15: $1.33b
CEO: Geoffrey Grady
HY15 Revenue: $145.2m
HY15 Profit: $30.1m
Staff: 1300
Listed: 1993

AVEO may keep divesting from the property development market, but the group is far from retiring.

The company's NPAT increased 26 per cent in the half year to December from the prior comparative period, revealing that its establishment as a pure aged-care play is paying off.

The group experienced record first-half sales from its established retirement business and has a number of development projects in Queensland, NSW and Victoria scheduled for completion in fiscal 2015.

With confidence that an ageing population will continue supporting its strategy, the group has upgraded its guidance to a 20 per cent increase on its 2014 result. Read More

16. TECHNOLOGYONE (TNE)

SOFTWARE & SERVICES
Market Cap April 15: $1.28b
CEO: Adrian Di Marco
FY14 Revenue: $195.1m (Full-year to September 2014)
FY14 Profit: $31m (Full-year to September 2014)
Staff: 850
Listed: 1999

TECHNOLOGYONE'S focus on "software as a service" even before cloud became part of our everyday rhetoric has seen the company through 11 consecutive years of revenue growth.

Priding itself on innovation and creativity, the company continues to spend big on research and development.

Last calendar year, research and development comprised 19 per cent of TechnologyOne's revenue expenditure, making the company Australia's largest software research and development company. Read More

17. TRANSPACIFIC INDUSTRIES GROUP (TPI)

COMMERCIAL SERVICES & SUPPLIES
Market Cap April 15: $1.82b
CEO: Robert Boucher Jnr
HY15 Revenue: $689.5m
HY15 Loss: $41.7m
Staff: 4500
Listed: 2005

TRANSPACIFIC Industries reported a first-half loss of $41.7 million, after taking a hit with oil prices and a string of impairments.

Investors were quick to dump shares following the report, with the waste management company experiencing an 18 per cent decline in share price in February.

Transpacific's hydrocarbons business incurred a one-off impairment charge of $77.5 million, and lost $16.5 million in revenue after its fleet was grounded following a road accident in Adelaide last year. 

Half-year revenue was down 5.1 per cent at $689.5 million, while EBITDA fell 12.7 per cent to $121.8 million compared to the previous period.

The company has launched a turnaround strategy in the face of challenging market conditions and expects solid year-on-year improvement in FY16. Read More

18. CORPORATE TRAVEL MANAGEMENT (CTD)

CONSUMER SERVICES
Market Cap April 15: $1.13b
MD: Jamie Pherous
HY15 Revenue: $83.8m
HY15 Profit: $11m
Staff: 1300
Listed: 2010

BUSINESS travellers are flocking to Corporate Travel Management the world over.

The niche company's North American foray has been the most promising of its offshore ventures, where it continues to acquire local business across the country, most recently TMC USTravel and Avia International Travel.

Domestic growth is still going strong too, up 15 per cent from the prior corresponding period. Read More

19. PANAUST (PNA)

RESOURCES
Market Cap April 15: $1.13b
MD: Fred Hess
FY14 Revenue: $888m (Full-year to December 2014)
FY14 Loss: $269m (Full-year to December 2014)
Staff: 3500
Listed: 1987

GOLD and copper producer PanAust suffered a full-year loss to December 2014 from lower commodity prices and a decline in gold production and sales.

Simultaneously though, this occurred with record annual copper and silver production and sales for the company.

PanAust's workforce has been disrupted in recent times, incrementally shrinking, and so too has the company's executive board.

Founder and managing director Gary Stafford exited the company in November. The new managing director Fred Hess is adopting a cautious approach and changing the business model to no longer provide one-year forward guidance for EBIDTA in light of market volatility. Read More

20. GREENCROSS (GXL)

HEALTH CARE
Market Cap April 15: $869.46m
CEO: Jeff David
HY15 Revenue: $307.4m
HY15 Profit: $3.7m
Staff: 3000
Listed: 2007

PETS across Australia are being well looked after by Greencross' books, with strong sales over the half year driving the company to a record underlying NPAT result.

Acquisitions of City Farmers and Mammoth, which held Petbarn and Animates, have delivered on their goals outlined in 2013.

Greencross has the country's largest network of pet stores and veterinary clinics, and has expressed intentions of continuing to grow acquisitively. Read More