IR Magazine Nordic Awards announced

DENMARK’S Danske Bank this week swept the IR Magazine Nordic Awards in Copenhagen — winning three of the top regional titles, including the Grand prix for best overall investor relations and best use of technology.

The bank’s head of investor relations Martin Gottlob was voted the Nordic Region’s best investor relations officer by the 180 analysts and portfolio managers who voted.

In the country awards category, the bank’s CFO Tonny Thierry Andersen won for best investor relations support by a CEO/CFO in Denmark. He is one of the only bank CFOs in the world we know of who publishes his email address for investors to contact him directly.

The bank, which earlier this year was rated best for IR in Denmark by Institutional Investor Magazine, has also won acclaim for its IR website and its leading-edge quarterly interactive accounts, which feature embedded Flash video, charts, currency switchers and a variety of usability features.

Technology leadership is a key part of Danske Bank’s investment proposition and the IR department demonstrates that in its online communications with analysts and investors. That makes the bank’s strategy all the more believable and real. (Disclosure: we have consulted on Danske Bank’s IR website.)

It is good to see great investor relations recognized by investors and analysts, especially online investor relations practices.

Even more remarkable in light of recent research showing that analysts tend to favor top performing companies in the IR Magazine Awards, is that Danske Bank’s shares have struggled this year, recently reaching new lows and lagging the performance of its financial sector peers.

This year, 12 of the 21 winners are banks or financial services companies, underscoring the quality of financial services IR in the region, which covers Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.

The full list of winners follows:

REGIONAL AWARDS
Grand prix for best overall investor relations  
Danske Bank   
Best use of technology for investor relations
Danske Bank
Best corporate literature 
Novo Nordisk
Most progress in investor relations
Swedbank
Best corporate governance
DnB NOR
Nokia
Best investor relations officer
Martin Gottlob – Danske Bank

COUNTRY AWARDS
DENMARK
Best investor relations by a large-cap company
Danske Bank
Best investor relations by a small or mid-cap company
Coloplast
Best investor relations support by a CEO/CFO
Tonny Andersen (CFO) – Danske Bank

FINLAND
Best investor relations by a large-cap company
YIT Corporation
Best investor relations by a small or mid-cap company
Stockmann
Best investor relations support by a CEO/CFO
Jouko Karvinen (CEO) & Hannu Ryöppönen (CFO) – Stora Enso

ICELAND
Best investor relations by a large-cap company
Landsbanki
Best investor relations support by a CEO/CFO
Sigurjón Árnason (co-CEO) and Halldór Kristjánsson (co-CEO) – Landsbanki

NORWAY
Best investor relations by a large-cap company
DnB NOR
Best investor relations by a small or mid-cap company
Cermaq
Best investor relations support by a CEO/CFO
Tom Grøndahl* (CFO) – DnB NOR

SWEDEN
Best investor relations by a large-cap company
SEB
Best investor relations by a small or mid-cap company
Axfood
Best investor relations support by a CEO/CFO
Anders Almgren (CFO) – Holmen

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