Fort Worth, Texas-Based Alcon See Steady Growth from Eye Care Products.

Byline: Maria M. Perotin

Jun. 28--With brisk sales in the United States and overseas, eye-care giant Alcon saw growth across its stable of products last year.

The Fort Worth-based company enjoyed gains from its introduction of a new ear-infection drug and the latest version of its AcrySof intraocular lenses, used to treat cataracts. All told, revenue climbed to $3.4 billion for the maker of ophthalmic surgery equipment, prescription drugs and consumer eye-care products.

Alcon's return on equity of 46.4 percent was especially strong, surpassing all but one company on the list. And income grew 114.5 percent, ranking Alcon No. 7 in that category.

It was a strong showing for the decades-old company, which went public in March 2002 and debuted last year at No. 2 on the All-Stars list.

"We've laid the foundation to continue to deliver very solid growth, especially for a company of our size," said Jacqualyn Fouse, the company's chief financial officer. "The company really fired on all cylinders. The sales growth has really been very robust."

Debbie Wang, an analyst at Morningstar, noted Alcon's strong sales of cataract-removal equipment and the company's investment in research and development of new drugs.