WASHINGTON, DC (TIP): At least nine Indian companies have landed on a spot on Forbes Magazine’s 2014 list of the Most Innovative Growth Companies, which ranks privately listed firms in terms of not just how innovative they are, but how much that innovation is expected to help them expand in the short-term future. The highest-ranked Indian company is Godrej Consumer Products Ltd., the Mumbai-based consumer goods company that was founded in 2001. The company was ranked #31 on the overall list, with a five-year average sales growth rate of 34.4%, fiveyear average net income growth rate of 27.6%, enterprise value of $4.2 billion, and innovation premium of 58.7%.

Its CEO is Adi Godrej. ABB India was ranked #37, with an enterprise value of $2.7 billion, but abysmal sales and net income growth rates of – 1.5% and -22.8%. The other Indian companies that made the list are Marico (#53), United Breweries (#60), Siemens India (#63), Asian Paints (#76), Nestle India (#78), Colgate- Palmolive India (#87), and Divi’s Labs (#99). “Most innovation rankings are popularity contests based on past performance or editorial whims,” said Forbes, in a statement accompanying the release of the list.

“Our method relies on investors’ ability to identify firms they expect to be innovative now and in the future.” Forbes explained that its rankings are based on “innovation premium,” which is calculated by compiling information like cash flow, net present value, market capitalization, and so on.

Each company has a total market capitalization of less than $10 billion. The highest-ranked company on the list is Xero, a New Zealand-based company that specializes in “IT Software and Services.” It has a five-year average sales growth rate of 210.2%, which is astonishingly high. Its enterprise value is only a relatively modest $4.4 billion, but its innovation premium is 91.7%, the highest on the entire list. In terms of enterprise value, 64-ranked Stericycle, which is based in Illinois, has the highest, with an estimated value of around $9.9 billion.