Corporate R&D Spending Surprises to the Upside

Bombardier Inc. Leads Top 100 in R&D Spending

TORONTO, Nov. 14, 2016 /CNW/ - Combined corporate research and development (R&D) spending by Canada's top 100 R&D companies increased by a strong 6.9% in Fiscal 2015 to $12.84 billion from $12.02 billion in Fiscal 2014; this on the heels of a -1.6% drop in Fiscal 2014 according to Research Infosource Inc. which today released its annual ranking of Canada's Top 100 Corporate R&D Spenders 2016 list. Bombardier Inc. continued to lead the list with R&D spending of $2.29 billion in Fiscal 2015, up from $2.02 billion, increasing strongly by 13.4% over Fiscal 2014. Magna International Inc. ($639.4 million), BlackBerry Limited ($599.7 million), BCE Inc. ($530.3 million) and Canadian Natural Resources Limited ($527.0 million) rounded out the top 5 R&D companies.  In total, R&D spending increased at 68 firms and declined at 31 (one company was flat).

This year Research Infosource included 26 firms in its $100 Million Club, an elite group that spent $100 million or more on R&D in Fiscal 2015, down from 30 firms in Fiscal 2014.

The top-performing industry sector in Fiscal 2015 was Aerospace, where 5 companies posted R&D spending of nearly $2.99 billion, an increase of 8.4% over Fiscal 2014.  Seventeen Software and Computer Services companies spent $1.86 billion, an increase of 12.5%, while 23 Pharmaceuticals/Biotechnology performers posted $1.71 billion of combined R&D spending, representing growth of 16.4%.

"It's a pleasant surprise that the Top 100 increased their R&D spending in spite of the economic headwinds", said Ron Freedman, CEO of Research Infosource Inc.  "What's even more surprising is that the R&D spending increase countered a -5.1% drop in combined revenue growth at the 84 companies where complete revenue data were available."

In association with its 15^th Anniversary, Research Infosource shines the spotlight on the top 20 corporate R&D performers over a 15-year stretch (2001-2015).  "These are the firms that have consistently invested in R&D each year for a decade-and-a-half – Canada's corporate research stalwarts," Mr. Freedman said.  The 5 top performers were Bombardier Inc, BlackBerry Limited, Magna International Inc. Pratt & Whitney Canada Corp. and IBM Canada Ltd."

For complete information: http://www.researchinfosource.com/top100_corp.php

About Research Infosource Inc.

Research Infosource Inc. is Canada's source of R&D intelligence.  Drawing from proprietary databases, Research Infosource Inc. publishes Canada's Innovation Leaders, which includes Canada's Top 100 Corporate R&D Spenders List, Canada's Top 50 Research Universities List, Canada's Top 40 Research Hospitals List and Canada's Top 50 Research Colleges List.  As well, Research Infosource publishes specialized reports and The Innovation Atlas of Canada^™ – a web-based research and innovation mapping tool and data information product.

SOURCE Research Infosource Inc.

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or for an interview, please contact: Ron Freedman, CEO, Research Infosource Inc., Telephone: [phone], ext. 22; Cell: 416-879-9000, Email: [email protected]