Grand prix winners at Ireland’s premier annual investor relations event are Anglo Irish Bank, CRH, Cpl Resources, DCC and Newcourt Group. Companies were selected by portfolio managers, buy-side and sell-side analysts in Ireland, the UK, North America and continental Europe.
An audience of over 200, comprising investor relations officers, CEOs, CFOs and other corporate representatives attended the black-tie event at the Conrad Dublin where Irish corporates were awarded in nine investor relations-related categories. The awards are organised by IR magazine in association with Ireland’s leading professional services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Anglo Irish Bank picked up three awards including a tie with CRH for the best investor relations by a CEO category won by David Drum (CEO), William McAteer (group finance director) & Matt Moran (CFO) of AIB and CRH's Myles Lee (CFO) & Liam O’Mahony (CEO). Kingspan Group won the 'most progress in investor relations' category.
The best investor relations officer category was carried by Allied Irish Banks’ Alan Kelly. Norkom Group won for best new listing in Ireland. A thorough list of all winners is attached.
Deirdre Somers, CEO designate of the Irish Stock Exchange said, ‘These awards are due recognition of the very strong standards of Investor Relations activities which are now promoted by companies on the Irish market. Going forward it’s important that the very professional standards reflected in the IR activities of these winners serves as an example to all the companies on the Exchange – including the many new companies which have listed on IEX in recent years”.
This is the fifth year of the Ireland awards. The award winners are based on a detailed investor perception study carried out by London-based Mary Maude Research, for which portfolio managers and buy and sell-side analysts from around Ireland, the UK, continental Europe and the US were interviewed and asked to vote for the best companies in various categories.
In addition, investors are asked their opinion on investor relations trends. As in previous investor perception studies the majority of the 80 interviewed felt the standard of IR among Irish companies was extremely high, with 72 percent saying Ireland compared favourably with the Eurozone and 91 percent stating Irish IR was on par with or better than that of UK companies.
Standards were felt to be high because of the willingness to travel, communications and the use of the internet and senior management’s involvement in IR. The Irish Enterprise Exchange (IEX) was an unknown entity to the majority of respondents (particularly among those based outside of Ireland) with 60 percent saying they were not familiar with the exchange. However, many respondents thought the IEX was a good idea in principle.
Fay Sanders, international editor of IR magazine, says “this year’s awards are confirmation of the high quality of IR in Ireland. ‘But given the continued economic prosperity in Ireland and the perceived pragmatism and sophistication of Irish investor relations by investors, this should not lead to complacency,’ she warns. ‘Irish companies should continually strive to surpass the high benchmark they have set for their shareholder communications efforts”.
Reflecting on the success of Irish companies’ IR activities, Kevin Egan, Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), says: “Corporate reporting in its wider sense plays a central role in communicating a company’s performance and value proposition to the capital markets. Many leading companies are now using enriched narrative in their corporate reporting to provide clear and explicit information on their markets, strategies and how they manage for value and performance”.
“However, a recent PwC survey of Fortune Global 500 companies found that only 15 percent of respondents report the key performance indicators management would routinely use to develop, manage and operate the business on a day-to-day basis, and only 10 percent of companies include forward-looking information. It is these management perspectives that investors and potential investors value highly, as they allow them to make a more informed assessment of a company’s performance and value”.
Kevin Egan concluded: “It is clear that companies who respond to the growing demand from investors and other stakeholders for broader and more relevant information on areas such as market challenges, strategy, risks and available resources will be the companies that will continue to attract investment and enhance shareholder value over the long term”.
The awards and conference are run in association with PwC and are supported by the Irish Stock Exchange. Other sponsors are Business Wire, Davy, Financial Dynamics, Hugin, Premiere Global Services and Thomson. For more information about the awards, please go to www.irmagazineireland.com
ENDS
For further information, contact:
Johanna Dehaene
PricewaterhouseCoopers
Tel: +353 1 792 6547
Email: johanna.dehaene@ie.pwcglobal.com
Claire Hunte
Cross Border Ltd
Tel: +44 20 7251 7520
Email: claire.hunte@thecrossbordergroup.com
IRELAND 2007
Winners
Grand prix for best overall investor relations
a) Large-cap companies (market cap above €2 bn at February 2007)
Anglo Irish Bank Corporation
CRH
b) Mid and small-cap companies (market cap below €2 bn at February 2007)
Cpl Resources
DCC
c) Companies listed on the IEX
Newcourt Group
Best use of the internet for IR
CRH
Best corporate literature
CRH
Best investor meetings and roadshows
a) Large-cap companies (market cap above €2 bn at February 2007)
Anglo Irish Bank Corporation
b) Mid & small-cap companies (market cap below €2 bn at February 2007)
McInerney Holdings
Best corporate governance
CRH
Most progress in investor relations
Kingspan Group
Best new listing in Ireland
Norkom Group
Best investor relations officer
Alan Kelly – Allied Irish Banks
Best investor relations by a CEO/CFO
a) Large-cap companies (market cap above €2 bn at February 2007)
Anglo Irish Bank Corporation David Drumm (CEO) William McAteer (group finance director) & Matt Moran (CFO)
CRH Myles Lee (CFO) & Liam O’Mahony (CEO)
b) Mid & small-cap companies (market cap below €2 bn at February 2007)
Cpl Resources Anne Heraty (CEO) & Josephine Tierney (CFO)
About Cross Border
Cross Border Ltd (formerly Cross-Border Publishing) was founded in the UK in 1993 and is the publisher in New York and London of IR magazine, the only global publication focused on the interface between companies and their investors. IR magazine hosts annual awards ceremonies in the US, the UK, continental Europe, Canada, the Nordic region, Asia, Brazil and Ireland with a combined annual attendance of around 8,000 investor relations professionals. Cross Border also publishes Corporate Secretary in North America and CorpComms in the UK. The Cross Border contract division offers publishing and event management to the financial and corporate communications sectors in Europe and the Americas.
www.thecrossbordergroup.com
Awards
The IR Magazine Ireland Awards are the latest in the ongoing annual series of surveys and awards conducted around the world by Cross Border. Winners of the awards are selected through independent surveys of investment professionals and retail investors. These investor perception studies together make up the world’s largest surveys of this kind, canvassing over 5,000 portfolio managers, buy-side and sell-side analysts and retail investors in more than 14 countries and regions. Survey respondents nominate companies in specific categories and offer their opinions on specific IR-related topics and trends.
About PricewaterhouseCoopers
PricewaterhouseCoopers provides industry-focused assurance, tax and advisory services for public and private clients. More than 130,000 people in 148 countries connect their thinking, experience and solutions to build public trust and enhance value for clients and their stakeholders. ‘PricewaterhouseCoopers’ refers to the new work of member firms of PricewaterhouseCoopers International Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity.
www.pwc.com/ie
