Jul 10, 2013

Capita recognized as top online reporter

By Laurie Havelock

Annual research from Radley Yeldar names top reporting companies and highlights growing trend for online publishing

Browsing corporate reports on your smartphone may prove to be a twofold vision of the future, as more firms than ever have reportedly produced material for mobile consumption and two telecoms companies are named as the market’s most proficient online reporters.

The initial results of Radley Yeldar’s study of annual and sustainability reporting – ‘How does it stack up?’ ‒ finds BT and Vodafone are, respectively, the most and second-most well-regarded online reporters in the country, while corporate service provider Capita is crowned the best overall reporter.

Radley-Yeldar presents initial report findings to seminar
Representatives from 170 companies attend Radley Yeldar’s seminar, which focused on the transformative effect of reporting on public perceptions

The research goes on to highlight that many more firms are reconsidering how such information is delivered, with 53 percent of FTSE 100 companies now deciding to publish some form of online report.

Unilever, named the seventh best-performing company in the IR Magazine Investor Perception Study – Europe 2013, attracts further plaudits for its sustainability reports, shaking off competition from Nestlé and clothing retailer H&M.

In turn, 43 percent of these firms have jazzed up their reports with some form of moving image, while another 10 percent have already adapted their publications for consumption on a smartphone. At the same time, however, only 13 percent of firms are producing full HTML reports, a 4 percent decline on figures reported last year.

The study takes into account a ‘stringent’ set of criteria in order to assess how companies communicate several key disclosure requirements, including strategy, key performance indicators, materiality, business model, risk and governance.

Though the report’s initial findings were presented at a seminar last week, attended by 30 FTSE 100 companies, Radley Yeldar is set to divulge its full findings later in the year with the eighth installment of its ‘How does it stack up?’ report.

Ahead of its publication, the following companies are named as the top 10 performers in each sector: