
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, April 2, 1991                   TAG: 9104020103
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: A5   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: MAG POFF BUSINESS WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

COMPUTER MODEL MADE BY DOMINION

The cover story in this month's CFO magazine lists America's strongest companies - identified through the Alert System of Roanoke's Dominion Trust Co. The magazine, with a circulation of 350,000, is aimed primarily at chief financial officers of national corporations.

Alert System is a computer model developed by Dominion Trust, a subsidiary of Dominion Bankshares Corp., to rank companies by their financial strength.

Supported by 10-year historical tests, Alert System uses percentiles from 99 as the strongest to 0, the weakest. Rank is based on 15 key financial ratios for profitability, liquidity and leverage compared to 6,000 other companies.

CFO magazine said it chose Dominion Trust's system because it covers a 10-year period and because Alert System "offered a comprehensive look at management acumen."

The list included four Virginia companies: O'Sullivan Corp. of Winchester, which makes plastic film and sheets and was ranked in the 94th percentile; Bowl America Inc., an Alexandria amusement and recreational services company, 91st percentile; American Filtrona Corp., a Richmond plastic manufacturer, 90th percentile; and Gannett Co. of Arlington, a publishing firm, 90th percentile.

by CNB