'R&D spend back at pre-recession mark'

Companies based in India and China have also increased R&D investments across regions by 27 per cent on average, although from a small R&D spending base, the study by global management consulting firm Booz & Company on innovation by 1,000 public companies across the world said.

“After growing almost 10 per cent for the second consecutive year, total R&D investment among the world's top innovation spenders continues to grow robustly,” the '2012 Global Innovation 1,000' study said.

The study examined 1,000 public companies that spent the most on research and development in 2011 and found that innovation spending reached an all-time high of $603 billion during the year, up from $550 billion in 2010, an an increase of 9.6 per cent.

This rebound comes after spending dropped 3.5 per cent between 2008 and 2009 during the height of the recession.

Booz & Company also surveyed nearly 700 innovation leaders from companies worldwide to determine companies, which are seen as the most innovative companies in the world.

Apple, Google, and 3M topped the list for the third consecutive year. The most innovative companies are seldom the biggest spenders, the study said.

When compared to the 10 companies that spent the most on R&D, the top-10 innovative companies outperformed across key financial metrics, including revenue growth, market cap growth, and profit as a percentage of revenue.

“Consistent with our study findings from previous years, there is

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