This is the main finding of the second semi-annual study of 507 investor relations websites of large-cap international companies for IR Web Report's IR Website Global Rankings™.

Companies' investor relations pages were evaluated for 100 best practice attributes relating to completeness, transparency, responsiveness and usability. The content of sites accounts for 75% of a site’s total score and covers all financial disclosures, corporate governance, shareholder resources and stock market information. The final 25% of a site’s score relates to the usability of the site, including navigation, document formats and internationalization.

The findings indicate that European companies generally take an investor-centric approach to their IR websites and are more prone to best practice, while companies in other countries appear to be oriented more to meeting minimum mandatory requirements, but not necessarily presenting information in ways that are easy for investors to access or use.

Geographic differences are clearly evident in the rankings. A wide spread exists in the scores between the top and worst ranking countries. Germany had the best IR websites while Japan had the weakest. US companies ranked seventh overall and Canadian firms ninth. One of the most improved performances was among Italian companies, which may be responding to the sharp focus on their practices in the wake of the Parmalat debacle.

Meanwhile, score ranges were tighter on a sector basis with little difference between the standards of companies in different sectors. Based on median scores, Telecommunications firms ranked the highest and Health Care companies the lowest for the overall effectiveness of their IR websites.

The highest ranked company among the 507 ranked is Stora Enso, a paper products company based in Finland. The highest ranked U.S. company is Verizon Communications, while BCE Inc. was rated as having the best investor relations site in Canada.

About IR Web Report
IR Web Report provides viewpoints, guidelines, research findings, rankings and examples of online investor relations best practice from around the world.

Started in 2000, the site presents an investor-centric approach to Internet disclosure because this win-win approach is the best way for companies to achieve their communication objectives on the Web. The site is owned by Clarity! Communication, a boutique communications consultancy specializing in the research and evaluation of online investor relations and sustainability communications.