Defense business gets on the radar with method for quantifying growth - Tampa Bay Business Journal:

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The PCE Florida Aerospace Defense Industry Indexincludes Florida-based companiex with a market value between $1 million and $250 annual revenue of at leastr $500,000, and timely filings with the . Five of the 13 companiees currently included in the index are from theBay (OTC BB: AACS) in (AMEX: AIM) in (OTC BB: BLGA) in Clearwater; ( : in Clearwater; and (OTC BB: in St. Petersburg. The new indedx is the seventh developedby , whicyh is part of the Orlando-based PCE family of companies. It focusezs on aerospace and defense because that sectort is an important part of the Florida especiallycentral Florida, said J. Clay who directs the indexes.
"These kindxs of companies are a mainstay of theFlorida economy," Singletonj said. "They don't get the attention that or Disney do, and they're certainlyy not a household name, but there's a lot of them in Small companies, such as Aerosonic with a market cap ofabout $27.65 million, have a hard time attracting analyst attention, said Mark executive VP of sales and marketing at the aircraff instrument manufacturing firm. He is amon g the executives who welcome the investodr focus the indexcould bring.
"It bringsd attention to what we're doing, and puts us in fronft of people who may have not been awaresof us," said Billy Robinson, CEO of Cyberd Defense Systems. Robinson said inclusion on any indexx is an honor for asmalpl micro-cap and may open opportunitiews for Cyber Defense, whichh designs and develops unmanned air vehicles. Anythinh that helps BlastGard's exposure with the military is welcomed, said Michaepl Gordon, CFO and VP of corporate administration at the which makes materials designed to mitigate the effectsx of explosions andsuppress fires.
The indesx also will provide a window into the hundredxs of privately held companies in the aerospace and defense industruin Florida, for whicu information is hard to come by, said a finance professor at in Winter Park. Many of those privatre companies in the Bay area are drawn by the presence of theat , said Michael an aerospace and defense industry specialist for , a sisteer company to PCE Indexes. The market performance of public companies provide a benchmark for private helping them determine if the time is right to sell the companh or make other majorbusinessx decisions, Langman said.
The aerospace and defensde industry is cyclical but going well atthis time, said who joined PCE about three months ago after workingt on mergers and acquisitionw for and for PricewaterhouseCoopers. Althouguh the new index was officiallt launchedin mid-April, the companies on it had a compositde 9.75 percent gain in value between Sept. 22-March 22. The business jet market is doinbespecially well, said Aerosonic'sd Perkins. "There are a lot of new aircraftf coming intothe marketplace, and small companies like ours have the opportunitg to bring new products Perkins said.