In July 2011, oil refiners Holly Corporation and Frontier Oil finalized a highly synergistic merger that created a super refiner with operations throughout the mid-continent, south western and Rocky Mountain regions. The new HollyFrontier Corp. was quick to capitalize on an unprecedented glut of oil that had come about at land-locked Cushing, Oklahoma. The net effect of this year-long anomaly was to hand a considerable raw-materials cost advantage to refiners that sourced their crude inland rather than from the coast. Among them: HollyFrontier, which recorded a 90% increase in revenue in 2011, swiftly followed by a 185% hike in revenue in the first quarter. -- N.S.
| Company | Sales growth (3-year annual rate) |
|---|---|
| Northern Oil and Gas | 237% |
| ZAGG | 104% |
| Green Mountain Coffee Roasters | 78% |
| Company | Profit growth (3-year annual rate) |
|---|---|
| Cirrus Logic | 450% |
| IAMGOLD | 421% |
| HFF | 341% |
| Company | Total return (3-year annual rate) |
|---|---|
| Questcor Pharmaceuticals | 120% |
| 3D Systems | 112% |
| TPC Group | 111% |
