Winners and comments from the IR Magazine Awards – Europe 2013
Brushing aside strong challenges from compatriots and the rest of Europe alike, the German chemicals company BASF triumphed at this year’s IR Magazine Awards – Europe, which took place on June 20 at the Brewery in London.
BASF, which relinquished its crown to Allianz in 2012, regained pole position in the IR Magazine Euro Top 100 rankings this year. In addition, the IR department won the best corporate literature award for the third year running, scooped the best in sector award for chemicals/specialty chemicals for the fourth year in succession, won the best use of technology for IR award and, last but not least, won the best-in-country gong in a particularly strong German field.
Other notable winners in the large-cap category include Oliver Stratmann, IRO at second–placed Lanxess, who collected the award for best IRO; Sanofi’s Chris Viehbacher, who won best IR by a CEO; and Simon Henry of Royal Dutch Shell, who won best IR by a CFO.
Portugal Telecom rose 32 places to rank 26th in the Euro Top 100, scooping the coveted grand prix for best overall investor relations by a mid-cap company and the award for best in sector – telecoms. Lyndsay Wright capped five years at William Hill by taking home the award for best IRO in the small and mid-cap category. In the small-cap category, Italian online clothing retailer Yoox Group claimed the grand prix for best overall investor relations, climbing an impressive 295 places to finish in joint 114th place.
In the list of winners over the next few pages, there are six new entrants in the Euro top 10 in 2013, signaling a year of change, although German companies once again performed strongly.
The winners were decided by an independent survey of 722 investors, buy-side analysts and sell-side analysts across Europe.
BASF
Euro Top 100 rank: 1
Awards
Grand prix for best overall investor relations (large cap)
Best corporate literature
Best use of technology for investor relations
Best in country – Germany
Best in sector – chemicals/specialty chemicals
What the investment community says
‘It is easy to understand BASF’s reporting because all the figures are there. When I read the annual report I get the impression it is a good company to work for and therefore a good one to invest in’ – Germany, buy side
What the company says
‘Our key objective is to ensure BASF receives a fair value from the financial markets. This requires that investors truly understand the investment story behind our company. They need to see that BASF has many ideas for good and profitable growth. Furthermore, it is our task to show investors how well the management team is driving this company forward, and that we deliver what we promise’ – Magdalena Moll, head of IR
 ‘We see IR as a strategic function’ – Oliver Stratmann, Lanxess |
Lanxess
Euro Top 100 rank: 2
Awards
Best investor relations officer (large cap)
What the investment community says
‘Lanxess hosts a great capital markets day, with presentations on each business unit. Its IRO, Oliver Stratmann, is a good communicator, never leaving a question unanswered’ – Germany, sell side
What the company says
‘To picture it as a car, being street smart in business and financials and the willingness to learn form the chassis, while the tires are built by transparency and consistency of message. But you will only gain traction with analysts and investors if you treat them according to their needs as customers: human beings who need efficient access to reliable information’ – Oliver Stratmann, head of IR
Amadeus
Euro Top 100 rank: 3
Awards
Best in country – Spain
Best in sector – technology software & services
What the investment community says
‘Amadeus has an excellent and proactive IR team, with quick response times. The IRO really gets the big picture, while also knowing the smallest accounting details. The team provides good materials and data for investors and analysts’ – UK, sell side
What the company says
‘We are starting to think about integrated reporting and trying to increase our exposure to the US market, trying to reach out to US-based research houses. We also participate more actively in business sessions to create small product presentations, and continuously ‘feed’ the market with useful information’ – Elena Avila, head of IR
Novo Nordisk
Euro Top 100 rank: 4
Awards
Best corporate governance & disclosure
Best in country – Denmark
Best in sector – healthcare/pharmaceuticals & biotech
What the investment community says
‘Novo Nordisk comes to visit us in London and we take clients to it, where the hugely experienced CEO is a consistently enthusiastic participant’ – UK, sell side
What the company says
‘What we are trying to do is not only cultivate a team where all of the IROs have a profound business understanding, but also one where they want to be sparring partners with our investors and analysts, in terms of our competitive precision and the competitive landscape we are in’ – Kasper Poulsen, head of IR
Continental
Euro Top 100 rank: 5
Awards
Best in sector – automobiles & parts
What the investment community says
‘As a former sell-side analyst, the investor relations officer at Continental can give you the full story fast. Overall, the IR team is responsive to investors’ needs, management is open at meetings and there is a deep knowledge base’ – Switzerland, sell side
What the company says
‘The recovery is something I think the whole IR team can take pride in on behalf of Continental. Keeping the high level of interaction with investors that we have during a difficult time in European markets is what we aim for’ – Rolf Woller, head of investor relations
Sanofi
Euro Top 100 rank: 6
Awards
Best investor relations by a CEO (large cap)
Best in country – France
What the investment community says
‘Running a large pharmaceutical company is hardly easy but the chief executive of Sanofi doesn’t make it seem that bad – and I particularly like that he doesn’t bamboozle you with science’ – UK, buy side
What the company says
‘The secret recipe is a mixture of common sense, putting investor relations high on the agenda and the commitment of time from both the IR team and senior management’ – Sébastian Martel, head of IR
Unilever
Euro Top 100 rank: 7
Awards
Best in country – UK
Best in sector – food & beverages/tobacco
What the investment community says
‘The IRO of Unilever meets us with management and really adds color. I want an IRO who can qualify what the CEO is saying, and I get it from Unilever’ – Netherlands, buy side
What the company says
‘We have made a lot of changes since I have been in the role – moving to quarterly dividends, no longer giving top-line or earnings guidance and moving to interim management statements for quarters one and three. These have all been positive changes from Unilever’s perspective and great opportunities for us to learn’ – James Allison, head of IR
Repsol
Euro Top 100 rank: 8
Awards
Best crisis communications
Best in sector – oil & gas
What the investment community says
‘Repsol’s IR is proactive in terms of getting on the front foot. The team anticipates issues investors are interested in and tells us about progress’ – Ireland, buy side
What the company says
‘The most important thing we did was to be available. I was responsible for IR during that [crisis] period and I will never forget the words of my CEO, who told me to go and meet all the investors so they would understand what was going on, even though we didn’t have too much information’ – Maria Zingoni, former head of IR
 ‘Your story should always reflect the real value of what you have’ – Dr Karl Mahler, Roche |
Roche Holding
Euro Top 100 rank: 9
Awards
Best in country – Switzerland
What the investment community says
‘With Roche it’s the availability and the communication that stands out. It’s easy to get an answer to any question and it is always very clear’ – France, sell side
What the company says
‘We always say if you have a piece of coal, don’t try to sell it as a diamond; and if you have a diamond, you would be an idiot to sell it as a piece of coal – so your story should always reflect the real value of what you have’ – Dr Karl Mahler, head of IR
Royal Dutch Shell
Euro Top 100 rank: 10
Awards
Best investor relations by a CFO (large cap)
What the investment community says
‘Shell has made serious improvements over the last couple of years. Every member of its senior management is now singing from the same hymn sheet’ – UK, buy side
What the company says
‘There is a lot of crossover these days between mainstream investor relations, where the focus is on the bottom line, and CSR, where investors measure us on a wider range of metrics. I find you can’t get one right without the other. Media relations goes hand in hand with all of this and, in general, the quality of business media coverage has improved’ – Simon Henry, CFO
Bayer
Euro Top 100 rank: 11
Awards
Best analyst/investor meetings
What the investment community says
‘The most reliable and stable IR team is at Bayer. It is eager and responsive to investors’ needs, puts on interesting events and communicates openly’ – Germany, sell side
What the company says
‘Visibility within the organization has drastically increased, making the IR function the corporate center, reporting directly to the CEO, on an equal footing with communications, strategic planning and all the other corporate center functions, so it has become quite a senior role’ – Dr Alexander Rosar, head of IR
EDP – Energias de Portugal
Euro Top 100 rank: 14
Awards
Best sustainability practice
Best in country – Portugal
Best in sector – utilities
What the investment community says
‘I like the disclosure we get from EDP. It regularly provides detailed information to the market on the different businesses. It sends updates with targets, provides good visibility and is always available to meet investors when needed’ – Portugal, sell side
What the company says
‘My role and the role of the IR team continues to be fully focused on the quality of EDP’s IR service and on the visibility and perception of EDP in the capital markets’ – Miguel Viana, head of IR
The Linde Group
Euro Top 100 rank: 21
Awards
Best investor relations during a corporate transaction
What the investment community says
‘The IROs at Linde are highly responsive and really know the numbers. When required to, they also organize access to management’ – UK, buy side
What the company says
‘Thanks to a great team spirit among team members in all relevant departments, the IR presentation for the announcement as well as the corresponding Q&A documents were all well prepared. The input from all sides helped us in the IR team to anticipate most of the information needs’ – Dr Dominik Heger, head of IR
Portugal Telecom
Euro Top 100 rank: 26
Awards
Grand prix for best overall investor relations (mid-cap)
Best in country – Portugal
Best in sector – telecoms
What the investment community says
‘Nuno Vieira feeds the market with information analysts can use. The website is easy to navigate, and it’s easy to talk to someone if I have specific questions on the numbers. You can get all financial data in Excel, which makes is easier to do your groundwork’ – Portugal, buy side
What the company says
‘I have the privilege of doing something I like and being part of a company and a team that inspire me. I would be happy to be doing the same thing over the next five years, hopefully improving even further our delivery of results’ – Nuno Vieira, head of IR
Arkema
Euro Top 100 rank: =64
Awards
Best investor relations by a CEO (small & mid-cap)
What the investment community says
‘Arkema’s investor relations department is reactive and it knows the business and the financial side well. The people there are capable of talking about operations in detail and relating any questions we have on finance to operations and what’s happening in the business’ – France, sell side
William Hill
Euro Top 100 rank: =76
Awards
Best investor relations officer (small & mid-cap)
Best in sector – travel & leisure
What the investment community says
‘At results meetings at William Hill there are a good number of management members to talk to, and all the company’s products are on display. It also holds useful investor days, when we are updated on various specifics and we get to meet key operational people’ – UK, buy side
What the company says
‘One of the things we want to do in 2013 is start targeting Australia: we’ve recently completed a transaction that will give us an Australian footprint in Sydney, so now is an ideal opportunity to go into that market and start talking to investors there’ – Lyndsay Wright, director of IR
Yoox Group
Euro Top 100 rank: =114
Awards
Grand prix for best overall investor relations (small cap)
What the investment community says
‘Yoox has good, comprehensive reporting and an exceptionally bright IRO’ – Italy, buy side
Spectris
Euro Top 100 rank: =128
Awards
Best investor relations by a CFO (small & mid-cap)
What the investment community says
‘Until a few months ago, Spectris’ CFO was responsible for IR and was doing a very good job’ – UK, buy side
What the company says
‘You have to work very closely with management in order to actually be good at IR. It is essential that the IRO is very close to management to understand the company’s strategic direction and vision very well’ – Cléa Rosenfeld, head of corporate affairs
Ziggo
Euro Top 100 rank: =352
Awards
Best investor relations for an IPO
What the investment community says
‘Wouter van de Putte is a real IR professional and knows Ziggo inside out. He is highly accessible and understands investors and analysts’ – Netherlands, sell side
The IR Magazine Investor Perception Study – Europe 2013 features in-depth interviews with IROs and senior management from award-winning companies, the full Euro Top 100 rankings and quotes from investors and analysts about why the winners won. To order your copy, please visit: www.irmagazine.com/research.
