Recognizing an IR website that doesn’t exist

By Dominic Jones

THE 10th annual IR Magazine Awards Canada was held last night — and as always I’m most interested to see which company has the best Investor Relations website according to professional and retail investors.

It’s an ongoing mystery to me how investors decide who should get the IR website award. I think it comes down to how memorable a website is rather than how useful it is overall.

Most of the IR website winners in the past seem to have had something innovative or funky going on, something that makes them stand out when investors are asked to name the best IR site they’ve seen.

Anyway, last night’s award for the best investor relations website is stranger than most because the site that won doesn’t exist.

Seriously, the glass statue for best IR website went to ATI Technologies, which used to have its much-prized Internet home at http://ir.ati.com/. However, if you follow the aforementioned link now you won’t find ATI.

Instead, you’ll arrive at a page on the website of Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD), an American company that acquired ATI in October 2006. I assume American companies don’t qualify for the Canadian awards.

Obviously, the survey of investors used to determine the awards was conducted before or around the time that ATI was being acquired by AMD. This happens to us occasionally and we treat it the same way IR Magazine does. If the site existed when we reviewed it, it stays on our list until the next review six months later.

Still, it makes for a humorous headline and gives me an excuse to write about the IR Magazine Canada awards without boring all our international readers.

While I have your attention, you might like to know the rest of the award winners, which include a posthumous award for a dear friend Ron Blunn, who passed away last year. Here are all the winners:

IR Magazine Canada Awards 2007

Best investor relations by a TSX Venture Exchange company
Shift Networks Inc

Best investor relations for an IPO
Tim Hortons

Best investor relations web site - small to large cap
ATI Technologies Inc

Best use of conferencing - small to large cap
Canadian Tire Corporation Limited
Gildan Activewear Inc

Best investment community meetings - small to large cap
ATI Technologies Inc

Best senior management communications - small to mid-cap
Cineplex Galaxy Income Fund

Best senior management communications - large cap
Agnico-Eagle Mines Limited

Best use of technology
RBC

Best annual report
PotashCorp

Best communications with the retail market
TELUS Corporation

Best disclosure policy
Inmet Mining Corporation
TD Bank Financial Group

Lifetime achievement in investor relations
Ron Blunn

Best M&A investor relations
Inco Limited

Best corporate governance
RBC

Best investor relations in the US market
CN

Most improved investor relations
Angiotech

Best investor relations officer - small to mid-cap
Isabelle Adjahi - Axcan Pharma Inc
Pat Marshall - Cineplex Galaxy Income Fund

Best investor relations officer - large cap
Janet Craig - Angiotech

Best investor relations officer - mega-cap
Bruce Mann - Rogers Communications

Best investor relations by a CEO
Hunter Harrison - CN

The CIRI grand prix for best overall investor relations - small cap
Cineplex Galaxy Income Fund

The CIRI grand prix for best overall investor relations - mid-cap
Axcan Pharma Inc

The CIRI grand prix for best overall investor relations - large cap
Canadian Tire Corporation Limited

The CIRI grand prix for best overall investor relations - mega-cap
CN

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