Executive Summary

The last time the Business Journal did a List of post-production companies was 1995, and oh, what a difference two years makes.

Huge increases in motion picture and television production, fueled by overseas demand for American entertainment product, have led to boom times for post-production services. Industry leader Four Media Co. employed 455 people in 1995; this year, the number was 769. No. 2 Todd-AO Corp. grew from 200 workers to 450 … and so on.

In 1995, the last company on the List had 30 workers. This year, it took 100 to make the top 15.

The Pacesetter

Four Media Co. is getting very big in a hurry.

Founded in 1993, the company completed five acquisitions of other post-production companies in three years, and is now one of the industry’s biggest players. In February, it raised $27.5 million in an initial public offering and the following month completed the acquisition of Universal City-based Anderson Film Industries Corp.

Still, the company isn’t lighting up Wall Street. The stock launched at $10 a share, but was trading for around $7.25 last week.

In the third quarter ended May 24, it reported net income of $1.2 million (12 cents a share), compared with $1.9 million (30 cents a share) for the like period a year ago.