Bentley moves up on ‘Fortune’ list

Bentley Pharmaceuticals, the Exeter-based supplier of generic drugs, has made Fortune Small Business magazine’s list of the 100 fastest-growing small public companies once again, moving up from 49th to 37th.

The list, which appears in the magazine’s July/August issue, ranks public companies with revenues of less than $200 million and a stock price of more than $1, based on their three-year growth in earnings, revenue, and performance.

Bentley, the only New Hampshire company included on this year’s list, ranked particularly high in earnings per share growth, more than doubling its growth over the past three years. That’s the 16th highest growth rate in the nation.

Most of Bentley’s 379 employees are in Spain, the magazine notes, and in addition to supplying drugs, it finds alternative ways to deliver them. Right now it’s working on an insulin nasal spray.

The company ranked 30th in revenue growth and 93rd in total return. – BOB SANDERS