BASF took the grand prix for best investor relations by a large-cap company in Europe at the IR Magazine Europe Awards last night.
The chemicals company was ranked number one by an independent perception study of 763 sell-side analysts, buy-side analysts and portfolio managers commissioned by IR magazine.
‘IR from BASF is big and bold: an informative annual report, excellent quarterly presentations, good teleconferences and a formidable IR team,’ commented one respondent. ‘This is a well-oiled machine,’ said another.
The awards were held at a gala dinner at the Hilton hotel in London, attended by hundreds of investor relations professionals from across Europe.
Picking up the grand prix, Magdalena Moll, head of IR at BASF, thanked her team for their ‘great work’ and pledged to keep up the high standard of investor relations at the company.
Other big winners on the night included Ingo Alphéus of German power company RWE, who bagged the award for best investor relations officer at a large-cap company. The award was a fitting tribute to Alphéus, who was promoted to chairman of the management board in April this year after spending 10 years as RWE’s head of IR.
‘Ingo Alphéus deserves to be nominated and to win the award,’ said one respondent to the perception study. ‘This is his final year in the job and for 10 years he has been an excellent head of IR.’
Nestlé took home four awards on the night, for best use of technology, best corporate governance and disclosure policy, best IR in Switzerland and best IR by a food and beverages company.
The work done by the IR team at Cadbury during its takeover by Kraft was also recognized, with the confectionery company winning best IR during a corporate transaction. The former head of IR at Cadbury, John Dawson, was in attendance to pick up the award. ‘I think we got the best outcome, despite the fact we didn’t manage to keep Cadbury as an independent company,’ he told the audience.
Smaller companies were also honored: Germany’s Laxness won the grand prix for best overall IR by a small or mid-cap company, while Ireland’s Cpl took home best overall IR for companies on a small-cap exchange. ‘With CEO Anne Heraty at the helm, the messages from Cpl are always clear,’ said a study respondent.
A full list of the winners is available in the events section of the website. Video interviews with some of the winners are available to view on IR TV.
