Toronto, December 02, 2005:

Overall Findings

• 65% of the S&P/TSX 60 scored below the global average of 500 international IR websites
• Some sites were found with broken links and content that had not been reviewed in over 18 months
• Most Canadian companies are not effectively addressing the information and usability needs of their investors or analysts on their IR websites
• Canadians should be concerned about their poor performance in the face of increasing internationalization of investment markets

The Good

The Top 10 S&P/TSX60 IR websites with their respective total scores:

• Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan has the best IR website in Canada and ranks in Global top 10
• Canadians provide the most comprehensive quarterly reporting, ahead of both the U.S. and Europe
• Canadian companies were more likely to provide transcripts of their conference calls than companies in the United States and Europe. This shows a willingness by Canadian companies to go the extra mile to make it easier for investors to access information in their earnings conference calls

The Bad and the Ugly

• Stale information and broken links were prominent problems on several sites. These are the most severe mistakes companies can make because they undermine confidence in the timeliness and accuracy of information on their sites. They may also create a perception among investors that the companies lack expertise
• Two sites have had broken search engines for more than 12 months; others have had broken links and stale information (including corporate governance information) for more than 18 months
• Only one Canadian company provides direct access to insider trading reports
• Regulators – via SEDI and SEDAR – fail companies and investors by not utilizing technology and practices that allow companies to provide consistent and seamless access to filings, unlike the SEC in the United States

Other Findings Include:

• 42% of the Canadian IR websites surveyed do not have an effective site search engine
• 77% did not provide their most recent annual report in HTML to make it easy to access information
• 18% did not provide their most recent proxy statements on their sites
• 75% did not prominently post voting results from their most recent annual meeting
• 65% did not publish their most recent earnings release in easier to use HTML
• 25% did not provide a webcast record of their most recent earnings conference call
• 32% do not provide access to their board’s corporate governance policies on their investor relations websites
• 98% do not provide direct access to information about insiders’ trading in the company’s securities
• 62% do not explain the company’s dividend policy
• 73% do not provide personal phone and email information for investor relations contacts
• 52% do not provide prepared answers to frequently asked questions and
• 65% do not properly identify all non-standard file formats – PDF, Word, etc.

About The Study
Published today by Clarity! Communications, a Toronto-based global online investor relations research and consulting firm, the study evaluated the investor relations sections of the S&P/TSX 60 companies on 133 attributes distilled from international research with investors. The attributes covered financial and corporate governance disclosures, shareholder services and ease of use.

The results of the Canadian evaluations were then compared with identical evaluations of 215 U.S. and 172 European large-cap companies. The 110-page report, including screen shots, is available to purchase at http://www.irwebreport.com/reports/.

Comments from the Study Authors
"There is a huge opportunity for Canadian companies to tell their stories effectively on the web, but very few Canadian large-cap companies are making an effort to use the Web to inform current and prospective investors about their performance," said Dominic Jones, a co-author of the study.

"There is a compelling payoff for corporations to use the web effectively in their communications with investors. By harnessing the web more effectively, companies can strengthen their reputations, lower their communication costs and reach investors in new markets. Most importantly, they can improve investor understanding of their potential, achieve a more accurate valuation for their securities and contribute to a fair and vibrant capital market," he said.

"It really comes down to trust and credibility," said Pam Agnew, a co-author of the study. "Stakeholders using the web make decisions and value judgments about companies and their stock based on their experience on the website. That experience is not only about the quality and transparency of the information they find, but how easy it was to find and to use – from browsing it online, to exporting it for further analysis, and/or printing a very specific piece of information."

"For companies to be successful in telling their story well to investors on the web, they have to build investor-centric websites, and the first step is recognizing that the web is a unique medium. Unfortunately too many companies think that web communication is just about taking a previously printed piece of information and making a PDF out of it. Print is print, web is web and like anyone who has learned a foreign language, you cannot think in one and hope that the translation will work well in the other," added Ms. Agnew.

About IR Web Report
IR Web Report, established in 2000 and a service of Clarity! Communications of Canada Inc., is the world's #1 source for advice about online investor relations. IR Web Report pioneered independent IR website evaluations and has the longest running survey of global IR website practices in the world.

About Clarity! Communications
Clarity! is an internationally recognized specialist consultancy that evaluates the effectiveness of companies' corporate reporting and communication on the web. The firm conducts research of global best practices and advises international corporations on how to effectively communicate their messages to a global online audience. Clarity's work brings together a number of fields and disciplines, including Web credibility, usability, investor relations, media relations and sustainability reporting.

Comment on CICA Electronic Reporting award to MDS Inc.
Subsequent to our release, the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants announced its awards for electronic reporting naming MDS Inc. as joint winner in the category along with BCE Inc. We want to explain that MDS Inc. was not included in our top 10 list in part because its corporate governance section was more than 18 months out-of-date at the time of our review in November 2005. This is shown in the following screenshot (PDF 96 KB) of a Google cached page taken on November 19, 2005. Given the stale information, we could not recognize MDS as having a top IR website as timeliness is essential for effective online corporate reporting. — December 7, 2005

Related: Full Report -- Online Investor Relations In Canada