Cook Inlet Region Inc.: rebalancing act proves successful.

• Author: Kalytiak, Tracy
• Position: 2010 Alaska's Top 49ERs: Still Growing Strong

When financial markets tanked two years ago, Cook Inlet Region Inc. saw a corresponding plunge in the value of its marketable securities portfolio. Officials of the 38-year-old Native corporation didn't wait to see whether the market would take the value of those securities back up again, however.

"We decided to liquidate those marketable securities and rebalance our portfolio to account for changed market conditions," said Sophie Minich, CIRI's chief operating officer.

CIRI's bold decision and its longtime focus on diversification of its business enterprises led to its rank of No. 43 this year on Alaska Business Monthly's annual list of the Top 49 Alaskan-owned and -operated revenue earners in the state.

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The Native corporation tallied $11.1 million in revenue in 2008. Last year, however, CIRI earned close to 79.9 million in revenue.

The corporation's profitability in creased as well. In 2008, it tallied a loss of $22.7 million. The following year, CIRI posted a profit of $24.5 million.

"In addition to rebalancing our marketable securities portfolio," Minich said, "we took the capital losses from 2008 and offset them against capital gains from preceding years and received a substantial tax refund from the Internal Revenue Service. Financial markets started to rebound in 2009 and we saw a positive gain in our portfolio."

DIVERSIFIED INTERESTS

CIRI participates in about every segment of Alaska's economy, as well as investing in the Lower 48. The corporation is involved in tourism, oil and gas, alternative and renewable energy, construction and real estate.

A stagnant economy in the Lower 48 translated into financially strapped potential tourists opting not to fly, drive or cruise up to Alaska. CIRI's tourism division responded by controlling costs: closing parts of facilities that weren't being used, hiring fewer employees, paring back tour schedules. The corporation also focused on online marketing outreach, reaching out to people who prefer to travel independently rather than under the wing of a tour group or cruise operator.

Thanks to its diversification, other aspects of CIRI's operations are showing promise even in the midst of a troubled economy.

"We're going to continue in that vein," said Jim Jager, CIRI's director of corporate communications. "The economy might go bad or individual industries might slow down, but we're more protected from downturns because CIRI's investments are diversified across different...