Investor relations in Ireland has been punching above its weight. The market may be featherweight in size, but the top companies show heavyweight potential. About a decade ago they realized the future meant an international audience for their shares. Throughout the 1990s and into this century, they’ve been busy selling their stock to shareholders across Europe. Now Irish IR is fighting fit in the international arena.
One influences on the development of Irish IR is the proximity of the Irish market to the UK. Traditional links with London have echoed strongly in Irish practices. Companies follow the highest levels of disclosure and accounting standards and, as expressed by Paul Burke, head of corporate stockbroking at Dublin-based Davy Stockbrokers, ‘Irish IR sees the UK as its guiding light in terms of performance. In general, the recent developments of IR in Ireland have been as good as in the UK, or anywhere else.’
Whereas IR used to fall under the remit of the CFO, most big Irish companies now have dedicated IR departments. They handle front-end functions, where the IRO interfaces with global institutions, goes on missionary trips, and has access to key executives. And then there are back-end functions – administrative tasks, developing the IR web site and fielding day-to-day shareholder calls.
The advent of videoconferencing, webcasting and teleconferencing have all boosted the sophistication of IR in Ireland. However, these tools have often been limited only to large-cap firms. As Burke notes, ‘The next stage is for small and mid caps to look at what’s been achieved by the larger corporations, and to take on board some of their practices in the development of their own IR departments.’
Investor Relations magazine’s first annual Ireland Conference & Awards, in Dublin on April 3, will be an opportunity for IROs to learn from each other’s experiences. There will be a morning of talks and interactive panel discussions on topics such as the essentials of effective IR, post-Enron IR, and comparing Ireland’s practices to its global peers. The finale will be the awards ceremony over lunch.
Ross Ivers, financial director of Paddy Power, will be part of a panel discussion at the conference. ‘As Paddy Power only became public at the end of 2000, IR for us has been about developing and adapting,’ he says. ‘I’m looking forward to sharing some of my experiences so that others coming along to the market will get better and better, and also to hear from companies that are more mature, so we can benefit from their knowledge.’
The conference will be the first gathering of its kind for companies listed on the Irish Stock Exchange and is testimony to the progress in the Irish market. Another panelist, Paul MacQuillan, financial director of Jurys Doyle Hotel Group, says of the conference, ‘It reflects the increasing importance of investor relations in Ireland.’
Burke adds, ‘In the current climate, there’s now ferocious competition for investment dollars. The days when institutions might buy and sell stock on the back of some broker research alone are long gone. What we need to do is get out there, sell the message, and compete.’
With the aims of the conference being to address key issues such as disclosure, transparency and governance, as well as how to build up a presence in the all-important international markets, this is an opportunity for IROs, CFOs, financial directors and company secretaries to help put the Irish on the map. It’s round one for Ireland, and time to step into the world ring.
Click here for more information on upcoming Investor Relations magazine events in 2003
