R&D Spending Stagnates Down -0.2% in 2008 According to Canada's Top 100
Corporate R&D Spenders List
"It's disappointing that even as corporate revenues were growing, many firms opted not to increase their investments in research and development," says
In fiscal 2008, 19 companies qualified for Research Infosource's elite
------------------------------------------------------------------------- The $100 Million Club ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2008 R&D Rank Company Expenditures 2008 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Nortel Networks $1.68 billion ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2 BCE $985 million ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3 Magna International $692.9 million ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4 Pratt & Whitney Canada $442 million ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5 IBM Canada $397 million ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6 Research In Motion $383.6 million ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7 Atomic Energy of Canada $329.4 million ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8 Alcatel-Lucent $237 million ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9 Apotex $218.9 million ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10 sanofi-aventis Group $211.5 million ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11 TELUS $210 million ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12 Bombardier $182.3 million ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13 GlaxoSmithKline Canada $149.8 million ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14 Ericsson Canada $126 million ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15 Pfizer Canada $122.9 million ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 16 CAE $113.1 million ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 17 Open Text $112.9 million ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 18 Aastra Technologies $105.5 million ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 19 Hydro-Québec $100 million -------------------------------------------------------------------------
Regional Picture
Looking at R&D spending by region for 2008, British Columbia's 13 firms spent
Industry Sectors
The Communications/telecommunication sector dominated Top 100 spending again in fiscal 2008. Together these eleven firms accounted for 27% of total R&D spending, an increase of 1.5%. Leaving Nortel Networks out of the equation, the remaining 10 firms posted a very impressive 26.3% increase in R&D expenditures. The Pharmaceuticals/biotechnology sector was next in total spending with their 31 firms accounting for 19% of total R&D spending. Four companies in the Telecommunications services sector were responsible for 13% of Top 100 spending. The Aerospace sector accounted for 8% of spending, Automotive 7% and Software and computer services 7%.
Gainers and Losers
Ten companies on the Top 100 list posted increases of over 60% in R&D spending in fiscal 2008. Leading the pack was Allen-Vanguard with a whopping 263.5% jump in R&D spending, followed by ArcelorMittal Dofasco with a 151.9% increase in 2nd place, TELUS with 147.1% in 3rd, Husky Energy at 122.2% in 4th and rounding out the top 5 is Cangene with 104.7%. Several well-known firms posted significant declines in R&D spending, including Ballard Power Systems, down -37.0%, QLT down -36.8%, Tembec down -29.9% and Teck Resources down -28.1%.
The complete Canada's Top 100 Corporate R&D Spenders List 2009 is available on the Research Infosource website, www.researchinfosource.com. Research Infosource Inc., a division of The Impact Group, is Canada's source of R&D intelligence. Drawing from an extensive database, Research Infosource Inc. publishes Canada's Top 100 Corporate R&D Spenders List, Canada's Top 50 Research Universities List, and specialized reports.
For further information: For further information: Ron Freedman, CEO, Research Infosource, (416) 481-7070 ext. 31; Janet Sandor, Director of Communications, (416) 481-7070 ext. 25
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