Midwestern companies with a global focus tend to have higher profit margins than businesses that don’t sell or operate much outside the country, a new study shows.

According to HSBC Bank’s new report, “highly international” Midwestern businesses had an average profit margin of 9 percent between 2007 and 2012. Those that were “less international” had a profit margin of approximately 3 percent.

What’s more, the highly international companies never dipped below 7 percent profit during the recession.

“The report clearly shows that a diversified geographic customer base or operations have an impact on business performance,” said Steve Trepiccione, a senior vice president at HSBC.

“Highly international Midwestern companies were able to insulate themselves from domestic market fluctuations throughout the past six years and remain consistently profitable.”