Essex Corp. / KEYW

About Essex Corp.

6708 Alexander Bell Dr., Columbia, Md. 21046
www.essexcorp.com | 301-939-7000 | Founded: 1969

Industry: Telecommunications | Category: Top 100 Companies

Essex grew tremendously in 2005, thanks in part to its purchase last February of Annapolis-based Windermere Group LLC, a software and engineering firm with extensive government and private contracts. Revenue for 2005 shot up to $159.8 million, more than double that of the year before and nearly 10 times its 2003 revenue. Profit grew even faster, rising to $8.6 million from $2.3 million in 2004. Earnings per share hit 38 cents, up from 13 cents in 2004.
The company continues to expand. Last May, Essex moved into a 39,000-square-foot headquarters in Columbia, allowing it to consolidate several offices and expand office and laboratory space. This year, it is adding 25,000 square feet to a facility near the National Security Agency, a major client, and making plans to lease more space in Columbia.
In January of this year, the company announced it had won a $47 million classified contract from the Department of Defense. With that deal, the company now has three major multiyear government projects that provide the bulk of its income. "In all of our big contracts, we essentially are doing the same thing for different [security] problems: systems integration to find bad guys," chief executive Leonard E. Moodispaw said in an interview.
Last June, Essex filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission that will allow the firm to issue as much as $100 million in new shares. Moodispaw said the company intends to sell the shares when it needs to fund capital investment and acquisitions.
The company is predicting that 2006 will be another growth year, with revenue expected to top $210 million.

2007 Financial Data

Total employees: 761 | Local employees: 660