The Deloitte Fast 50, which ranked the top 50 businesses in New Zealand according to their revenue growth during the past three years, was announced in the Dunedin Public Art Gallery last night.
Mr Horne said Otago businesses New Zealand Honey Company, Salmac Insulation, Cook Brothers Construction, Educating Adventures and MedRecruit all exceeded the benchmark growth rate of more than 160% to make the top 50 list.
NZ Honey (Dunedin) was the regional winner and 10th on the top 50; Educating Adventures (Queenstown) was 17th; MedRecruit (Queenstown) was 31st; Salmac Insulation (Dunedin) was 33rd; and Cook Brothers Construction was 49th.
NZ Honey, Cook Brothers and MedRecruit featured on the index for the second consecutive year.
NZ Honey, with 523% growth over the past three years, and MedRecruit, with 265% growth, should be "especially ecstatic" with their performance, Mr Horne said.
Educating Adventures also achieved a "phenomenal" 396% growth to finish second among the region's businesses on the index, he said.
"Attaining this level of high growth is, quite frankly, staggering, but it's even more significant when you can do that year after year. Sustainable high growth is, after all, the ultimate goal of every business."
Even in the uncertain economic climate, businesses could identify niche markets and achieve high growth by following fundamental business principles, Mr Horne said.
Small and medium-sized businesses were finding it hard going and the majority were likely to have another two years of slow growth, he said.
However, owners and managers could not run their businesses depending on macro-economic factors.
A downturn did not mean there were no opportunities and businesses had to focus on those opportunities to survive.
Consistent growth, even through a recession, came from paying attention to basic principles and doing them well.
Other awards announced last night included:Telecom Rentals (Wellington) was the New Zealand winner of the awards.
The company, a subsidiary of Telecom, provides finance to small businesses for telecommunications and information technology.
NZ Honey was also the year's fastest-growing primary sector business in New Zealand, the fastest-growing exporter and fastest-growing retail or consumer products for the Dunedin and lower South Island region.
Salmac Insulation was the fastest-growing mature company - for a business more than 15 years old - in New Zealand.
MedRecruit was the fastest-growing business services company in the Dunedin and lower South Island region.
Mr Horne said this year's Fast 50 companies grew the New Zealand economy by $761 million in the past three years and created 806 jobs.
