The tsx venture exchange hopes that the 2005 TSX Venture 50 ranking — the junior bourse’s latest salvo in its continuing campaign to get noticed — will entice more emerging companies to list on the exchange and more investors to put money into them.

“It’s also to say to professional advisors — [advisors] to companies who want to go public and [advisors] to investors — take a look at this. Being in the junior space can be very lucrative,” says Linda Hohol, CEO of the Calgary-based TSX Venture Exchange.

Released in mid-December and intended to be annual listing, the TSX Venture 50 consists of a ranking of the top 10 companies in each of five categories: mining, oil and gas, technology, life sciences and the “diversified industries” group — a catch-all for companies that don’t fit into the first four categories. The ranking will be used as part of the exchange’s overall marketing strategy in the coming year.

The formula for deciding the winners gave equal weighting to one-year revenue (on the last reported 12 months), return on investment, market cap growth and trading volume, with all data taken as of Aug. 31.

The exchange also filtered out listed companies with less than $5 million in market capitalization and a closing share price less than 50¢, as well as companies that had been on the exchange for less than a year. In so doing, the exchange filtered out about three-quarters of its 1,980 listed companies.

“[With the formula], we’ve tried to take those four key things that might be of interest to an investor or professional advisor,” says Kevan Cowan, senior vice president of the venture exchange as well as of business development for the Toronto Stock Exchange.

A complete list of the companies included in the TSX Venture 50 can be found on the TSX Group’s Web site by clicking on Media Centre, then on News and then on TSX Venture Exchange. On that note, here is a closer look at the five winners:

> CV Technologies Inc. This was named the top company on the exchange as well as the winner in the life sciences category. The Edmonton-based company is best known for its popular lead product, COLD-fX, a cold and flu remedy that is sold as an all-natural boost to the immune system. The product is also used by a number of Canadian professional and amateur athletes and is endorsed by Hockey Night in Canada celebrity Don Cherry.

The company sells COLD-fx through more than 6,000 retail outlets in Canada. It is also signing a U.S. distribution deal and continuing to develop and market new products, including CELL-fx, which is designed to ease bone and joint pain.

CV Technologies’ shares jumped from 65¢ at the end of August 2004 to $3.25 a year later — a 400% return on investment. Its revenue was just under $27 million while its market capitalization grew from $59.1 million to $325.5 million, a 450.6% increase over that period. For the fiscal year 2005 ended Sept. 30, CV Technologies posted net earnings of nearly $10.1 million, compared with earnings of $150, 918 in 2004.

“[CV Technologies] just had phenomenal growth,” Hohol says. “Twelve years is how long they’ve been listed on the exchange. Twelve years of hard work, good scientific research … and a very good marketing campaign have paid off.”

> Laramide Resources Ltd. The winner in the mining category, this Toronto-based company specializes in acquiring and developing domestic as well as global mining projects. Laramide traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange from 1981 until the late 1990s, when the company — blindsided by falling gold prices — struggled and was delisted.

In 2001, Laramide raised start-up capital and listed itself on the venture exchange. The company now has major projects in Canada and Australia, and lesser interests in Argentina, China and Mexico. Its Australian project, the Westmoreland uranium mine in Queensland, is Laramide’s key property and one of the top uranium deposits in that country.

For the first nine months of 2005, Laramide posted a loss of $1.2 million compared with a loss of $177,649 in the same period last year. Yet, Laramide believes it is set for major growth. Shares in the company grew 650% from 36¢ to $2.70 in the one-year period ended Aug. 31, and the company’s market capitalization increased from $10.9 million a year earlier to $102.6 million, representing 838.4% growth. Its revenue for the last reported 12 months was $363,000.

@page_break@> Capitol Energy Resources Ltd. The independent oil and gas company with interests in five properties in northern Alberta and British Columbia was named the top company in the oil and gas category. The company has doubled its proven reserves over the past two years and continues to acquire and develop new properties.

For the first nine months of 2005, Calgary-based Capitol Energy lost $564,000, down from a loss of $1,730,000 in the same period in 2004. Shares in the company jumped 394% from 84¢ to $4.15 in the one-year period ended Aug. 31, and its market capitalization rose 833.4% from 2004’s $16.9 million to $157.5 million in that time. Its revenue for the last reported 12 months was $5,728,000.

> Icron Technologies Corp. The Vancouver-based company was the winner in the technology category. The company develops, manufactures and markets technology that extends the range of USB computer connections, with or without wires. Icron has installed its technology in submarines, supercomputers, factories, and security facilities, and its customers include Siemens AG and The Boeing Co.

Icron posted a loss of $488,518 for the first nine months of 2005 compared with a loss of $252,481 for the same period last year. Its shares rose 372.7% from 28¢ to $1.30 in the one-year period ended Aug. 31, and its market capitalization grew 531.1% from $4.1 million to $26.1 million. Revenue for the last reported 12 months was $3,373,000.

> Raymor Industries Inc. This was the top-performing company in the diversified group. The Montreal-based company focuses on nanotechnology — a process by which electronic circuits are built from single molecules. Raymor products have applications for aerospace, biomedical, military and industrial sectors, and it holds more than 20 patents worldwide.

In the first nine months of 2005, Raymor showed net earnings of $277,994 compared with a loss of $258,085 in the same period in 2004. The company had a return on investment of 1,300%, from 5¢ on Aug. 31, 2004, to 70¢ on the same date in 2005. In that period, the firm’s market cap came in at $44.6 million, an increase of 3,734.3% from the previous year’s $1.2 million. Revenue for the last reported 12 months was $664,000.

It’s also important to note that four of the companies honoured on the TSX Venture 50 have graduated to the Toronto Stock Exchange — although none are winners. They are: Calgary-based Imaging Dynamics Company Ltd. in the life sciences category; and Technicoil Corp. and Calvalley Petroleum Inc., both based in Calgary, and Bankers Petroleum Ltd., based in Vancouver, in the oil and gas category. IE