As more and more foreign companies come to list their stock in the US, the need to recognize excellence in investor relations among non-US companies has become a significant feature of the Investor Relations magazine US awards program.
This year there were three awards up for grabs for companies in Latin America, Europe and Asia. Winning by an overwhelming margin in the Best Asia-Pacific Company Investor Relations category was Sony, with twice as many points as runner-up Honda Motor Co. ‘They’ve always been straightforward which is rare for Asian companies,’ says one analyst. ‘Unlike most other Japanese companies, the head of their team speaks English so he’s able to communicate directly to investors in the US,’ comments another.
IRO Yas Hasegawa says he isn’t surprised by the accolades bestowed on the company. After all, this is the third year in a row it has won the award. He feels that the main selling point of Sony’s IR department is that it keeps in very close contact with its investors; which means providing them with news, however badly the company performs. He suggests that most Asian companies only come over to see their American investors when their results are very good. ‘Otherwise I think they avoid visiting,’ says Hasegawa.
Keeping in touch with US investors’ needs is made easier by the fact that Sony has an office in New York, manned by a three-person IR team. ‘I think we’re one of the few Asian companies [with an IR presence] over here,’ says Hasegawa. The team also travels around the States a lot: after quarterly announcements Hasegawa heads for Boston before moving on to the west coast; and senior management come over from Tokyo twice a year to visit investors on both the east and west coasts. ‘Most companies only send management over once a year and usually just to New York,’ he adds.
Focused effort
In the Latin American category, Cemex also came out as a clear winner. Like Hasegawa, IRO Brad Johns says he was not altogether surprised by his win. ‘We’ve really focused our efforts and set up a lot of new activities in the past year or two.’
That includes bringing on board two new managers and setting out a new IR strategy. ‘We’ve split our team into two areas – analyst relations and investor relations. We’ve got an ex-analyst from Merrill Lynch working out of New York and dealing closely with the analysts and then the other two of us in Monterrey, Mexico concentrating on the buy-side,’ explains Johns. He says that the IR department stands above its peers because of the level of attention given to investors.
The Cemex program includes an annual site tour for analysts, investment bankers and money managers, an annual CEO roadshow and a monthly investor conference. And investors seem to be more than satisfied: ‘They’re willing to call and visit me personally so I like them primarily because they’ve made an effort,’ comments one.
In Europe, the race for Best European Company Investor Relations was closer, with Nokia just pipping Royal Dutch/Shell Group to the post. Nokia was commended for its accessibility to US investors and analysts and also its regular and active dissemination of information. ‘They communicate with the Street very well. They have an investor relations person in Dallas as well as in Finland, so you can talk to either one,’ says one analyst. ‘I like the fact that they notify us about their quarterly conference calls two or three weeks in advance. They also put their quarterly results on their web site, so you can either print out the information or look at it on screen before or during the conference call,’ says another.
Royal Dutch/Shell was also credited for its wide distribution of financial information and detailed disclosure, with one analyst commenting: ‘They’re very proactive and have gotten a lot of coverage from the Street. There’s a lot of information available about them.’
Wall Street praise doesn’t come much higher
