BASF is in the running to win the most awards at the upcoming IR Magazine Europe Awards 2012.
The German chemicals giant, winner of six awards last year, features in eight short lists in 2012, including the grand prix for best overall investor relations.
That is still two fewer than last year and only one more than its closest competitors, Allianz and Novo Nordisk.
Allianz has picked up five more short listings in 2012 than it had last year while Novo Nordisk has stayed the same, on seven.
In 2011 the Danish pharmaceuticals company went on to lose to BASF for the grand prix for large-cap companies.
This year, the trio will battle it out for the top prize for large caps, along with Unilever, which occupies the other spot on the short list.
With six short lists in total, the Anglo-Dutch consumer goods company leads a chasing pack of European hopefuls.
Close behind it, Umicore of Belgium, Kingfisher of the UK, Randstad of the Netherlands and Lanxess of Germany all feature on five short lists altogether.
Lanxesss, the winner of the grand prix for mid-cap companies last year, will be looking to defend its 2011 title against Umicore, Randstad, Derwent London of the UK and Telenet of Belgium.
Full short list
A full breakdown of this year’s short list is available here.
The winners will be announced at the awards event on June 26 at the London Hilton on Park Lane.
Commenting on the short list, Janet Dignan, the founding editor of IR magazine, said: ‘Perhaps it’s a product of today’s turbulent European times, but it’s striking how different this year’s short list is from past years’.
‘Encouragingly, the newcomers don’t just reflect the better-performing sectors, underlining the fact that these awards really do identify the companies and individuals who are best at IR – not at making profits.’
The event will be hosted in association with Arkadin Global Conferencing, BNY Mellon Depositary Receipts, Business Wire, a Berkshire Hathaway company, Davy, International Capital Connections, the Investor Relations Society, NASDAQ OMX and OTCQX.
About the IR Magazine Europe awards
The IR Magazine Europe Awards recognize the leading investor relations teams, professionals and senior management from across Europe in such areas as best IR by a CEO, best use of technology and best investor relations during an IPO.
The short list and the eventual winners are determined by a survey commissioned by IR Insight, the research arm of IR magazine, and conducted by independent research house Mary Maude Research.
During Q1 2012, researchers spoke to more than 700 buy-side analysts, sell-side analysts and portfolio managers located across Europe.
The full results of the survey are contained in IR magazine’s Investor Perception Study, Europe 2012.
This extensive research report, featuring interviews with the winning teams and individuals, will be published following the awards.
The 2012 report will once again include the Euro Top 100 IR ranking, a comprehensive league table of the top companies across Europe.
