Results of the preliminary research conducted for the 2008 FD Henri Sijthoff-Prijs prize

Small-cap companies lag behind in the quality of their online financial communications compared to mid caps and large caps. This can be concluded from preliminary research conducted by Jungle Rating for the 2008 FD Henri Sijthoff Prize. We assessed the corporate websites of all 132 Dutch listed companies. Only 18% of the companies provide Corporate Governance information in HTML, but key financials are increasingly offered online.

For the sixth consecutive year, Jungle Rating studied the quality of the financial communications of all companies listed on the Dutch stock exchange. This research forms an important part of the jury’s decision in determining the winner of the Henri Sijthoff Prize awarded by Het Financieele Dagblad (FD).

The 50 websites that achieved the highest scores in the preliminary research will be assessed in May and June based on the 145 criteria defined for the main research. Just as last year, Jungle Rating will additionally evaluate the corporate websites of 20 non-listed companies.
 

Small caps still lagging considerably behind mid- and large-cap companies

In the preliminary research, Jungle Rating assessed the corporate websites based on 10 key criteria.

If we compare the 2008 scores with those of last year, we can see that the AEX companies distinguish themselves a little less from the mid caps and small caps. Moreover, the difference between the scores of the mid caps and small caps has decreased. However, the scores still vary greatly, which led us to conclude that the small caps are still lagging considerably behind mid caps and large caps.

Figure:  Total scores obtained per index in 2007 and 2008
Source:  Het Financieele Dagblad & Jungle Rating

Interesting findings from the preliminary research

The websites have been assessed based on 10 key criteria. Following are brief descriptions of the research results. Three criteria are dealt with in greater length.

1. The AEX companies excel in providing corporate information
2. All companies are clearly advancing as regards the IR component
3. Press releases are generally offered, but only 40% of the companies  provide an alert service or RSS feeds
4. Only 18% of them offer Corporate Governance information in HTML
5. An upward trend is visible in the accessibility for financial stakeholders
6. Slight increase in the number of annual reports in HTML
7. Share information is still too limited
8. Key financials are increasingly offered online
9. Financial calendar is better, but alert services are still insufficient 
10. Webcast presence varies strongly

Still hardly any Corporate Governance information in HTML

In recent years, all companies have become accustomed to communicating in accordance with the Dutch corporate governance code, ’Code Tabaksblat’ (comply or explain). Information about Corporate Governance is almost exclusively provided in the form of PDF documents. Offering it (also) in HTML would make the information easier to scan and read, as well as more suitable for on-screen reading. Some 27% of the AEX companies offer the Corporate Governance information in HTML. Among mid caps and small caps, this is 20% and 13%, respectively.

Figure:  Max. score on the corporate governance criterion per index
Source:  Het Financieele Dagblad & Jungle Rating

Upward trend in accessibility for financial stakeholders

It is important for financial stakeholders to have specific contact information from the Investor Relations department available on the website. This enables visitors to contact the IR officer directly. We checked out the availability of a specific e-mail address or contact form and a specific telephone number.

The percentage of websites that provide both is presented per index in the table below. We also compared the scores of this criterion with those of previous years.

The scores of this component have improved across the board. The small-cap companies still lag considerably behind the two other indices.

Webcast presence varies considerably

Webcasts have gained in popularity this year compared to the previous year. Now, 40% of all listed companies provide a webcast presenting annual figures on their website, compared to 35% in the previous year.

The large contrast between the different indices is interesting: 64% of the AEX companies offer a video webcast, whereas this is 25% for the mid caps and 1% for the small caps.

In the case of the AEX companies, only 14% do not offer any form of webcast. Among the small-cap companies, 81% do not provide any audio or video webcasts, which strongly reduces the popularity of this index.

Source:  Het Financieele Dagblad & Jungle Rating

Selected for main research

In May and June 2008, Jungle Rating conducted an extensive assessment of the quality of the online financial communications of 50 selected websites. The websites of the non-listed companies were evaluated in precisely the same manner. In October, during the presentation of the FD Henri Sijthoff Prize, Jungle Rating will publish the FD Top 50 rankings and announce which AEX, mid-cap, small-cap and non-listed companies have the most accessible and comprehensive financial website.

The following companies have been selected for the main research:

* This company is a newcomer in the selection compared to 2007
** The company is back after a year of absence

*** This company is currently no longer listed on the stock exchange