Based in Las Vegas, Nevada, Allegiant specializes in linking passengers from small cities to leisure spots in the United States. It serves 68 cities on 113 routes, having added 19 new routes since August. Allegiant sells stand-alone air travel or ties packages together with hotel rooms, rental cars and other travel-related services.

Allegiant is eliminating competitors like a B-52 shooting down a flock of whirlybirds. In 2007, rivals competed on nine routes; now, that number should be one (there’s a choice for you from Las Vegas to Fresno). By eliminating others from their modest routes, Allegiant gets more and more opportunities to grow. Some opposing airlines have gone bankrupt: ATA and Aloha, and others, including Midwest, are restructuring.
Fuel prices have been a burden this year, but Allegiant still is expected to post 2008 earnings of $1.23 per share, below last year’s $1.50. Revenues are expected at $506 million, up 40% from the previous year. The airline of obscure routes intends to see 15% to 20% compound annual growth for the next five years.

To overcome the dragging economy and costly fuel, Allegiant has cut back on long-haul flights, reduced capacity in select markets and concentrated on raising . . .

Based in Lansing, Mich., Neogen has 26 years under its belt fulfilling “A Mission That Matters,” of making the world safer for people and animals. Given the headline-grabbing woes of contaminated food such as Salmonella-laden vegetables in fast-food restaurants and E. coli-tainted beef reaching supermarkets, it’s easy to see why there’s interest in Neogen's products.

A report this summer from The Freedonia Group said U.S. demand for food safety products is likely to increase 6.5% a year to become a $3.2 billion market by 2012.

Neogen operates two divisions: food safety, which markets testing products including kits to detect such substances as foodborne bacteria, spoilage and allergens; and animal safety, marketing diagnostic and pharmaceutical products, nutritional supplements, veterinary supplies and disinfectants.

Few companies can boast a stock price rising this year, but Neogen is hanging on: up 1.32% year to date. Over the past two years, the share price has nearly doubled. Neogen stock, which is thinly traded, hit a 52-week high of $31.95 on Sept. 19, while it dropped to a low of $20.35 on Jan. 22. On Wednesday, Neogen closed at $26.90.

Just ask Usana Health Sciences Inc. (Nasdaq:USNA), a nutritional products maker based in Salt Lake City. Usana has built a global following through its direct-selling model, which contracts thousands of independent sales associates, most of whom began as Usana customers.

For those commissioned associates, direct selling is a thriving industry totaling $30.8 billion in the United States and about $112 billion worldwide last year, according to the Direct Selling Association. But the numbers don’t necessarily translate well for all consumer product companies, and those designated as direct sellers tend to come and go, the DSA says.

Usana arrived in 1992 and hasn’t gone anywhere but up. Annual revenue has more than doubled in the past five years, eclipsing $420 million in 2007. Usana credits a trusted product line and a proven marketing strategy for its continued success.

The company made three significant announcements at its annual convention on Aug. 28: a new energy drink product called Rev3; expansion into the Philippines; and new compensation incentives for associates.

Spurred by a challenge from CEO David Wentz, Usana scientists came up with an alternative to the sugary, “crash-and-burn” energy drinks common in today’s market. The resulting Rev3 is a green-tea based drink that contains an advanced formula of antioxidants as well as Usana’s patented olive-fruit extract, Olivol.   

“This is a product that will appeal to a wide audience,” Wentz said in . . .

Shares of the Baton Rouge, La.-based provider of home-health-care services have risen about 47% in the past year, and of the analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters, eight of 13 have Amedisys at either “strong buy” or “buy,” with five at “hold.”

After bottoming out Oct. 9 at $43.51, Amedisys rebounded along with the overall market on Oct. 13, climbing 15% to $51.48. Amedisys closed Monday at $53.86.

With some 80 million baby boomers approaching senior citizen status, companies such as Amedisys expect to see booming demand for their services in the coming decades. The “silver tsunami” could push Medicare beneficiariesto 79 million by 2030 from 39 million in 2000. Last year, Amedisys derived 89% of its revenue from Medicare. The typical Amedisys home-health patient is Medicare-eligible and 80 to 84 years old, with many afflicted by several serious maladies.

Founded by chairman and CEO William Borne in 1982, as of Dec. 31 Amedisys had 325 home-health agencies, 29 hospice agencies and managed a half-dozen others  — all Medicare certified — in 30 states.