Best annual report 2013

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Seventeenth edition of the Annual Report on Annual Reports, the independent global survey on annual reporting practice.
Report ranking
Top 400 annual reports
A-Z list
Who ranks where?
Best practice
Best practice in 15 areas
Annual Report on Annual Reports 2013
Contents
Annual report ratings The annual report is still alive – check it out! Top 400 annual reports Other reports compared and rated Who ranks where? Best practice for 15 report attributes Industry report benchmarking How the survey is conducted Report rating panel -and picks How is your report doing? Two scanning options Making reports pay off e.com – Reportwatch
3 4 6 22 30 54 84 89 95 104 105 107
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Annual Report on Annual Reports 2013
Annual report ratings
A+ A AB+ B BC+ C CD
First-rate Excellent Very good Sound Average Uneven Common Substandard Poor Uncompetitive
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Annual Report on Annual Reports 2013
The annual report is still alive – check it out!
Globalization of markets, round-the-clock cross-border investment flows, internationalization of reporting standards, the increased complexity of reporting requirements have resulted in an overall improvement of reporting practices (a good aspect) and a larger degree of homogenization of annual reports (not always for the better) over the last decade. In addition, the Net and mobile communication tools have opened new channels to reach anyone anyplace at any time (with pros and cons, once again). Mixed together, those trends make the reporting challenge more daunting, report makers’ job more difficult, and evaluation or comparison more complicated. So much that since the launch of the Annual Report on Annual Reports we have heard regularly obituaries about the extinction of annual reports (see e.g. “The death of the annual report” by David Robinson, a professor at the Haas School of Business, in October 2007). More than fifty years since the creation of annual reports (probably pioneered by IBM), and seventeen years after our first survey, the annual report is still alive –with and without changes. How come? Publishing an annual report is mandatory. This probably explains why thousands of companies just stick to a legal format and simply go for reporting as a necessary evil or as (accounting) business as usual. If reporting annually is primarily done to meet legal and regulatory obligations, good reporting tends to depart from ready-to-wear forms and goes beyond compliance. As the then CEO of Canadian BMO bank once wrote in his annual report message: “Reporting is not just about complying.” If only more report makers could walk that talk! A big frustration indeed is that too many reports now tend to look and sound like each other (a downside of globalization). Where is that differentiation, trumpeted by branding, advertising and other marketing specialists? The annual report remains (one of) the major place(s) to set out the company strategy, put it in perspective, check its execution –and problems faced. A recent survey conducted among buy-side investors worldwide by U.S.-based Rivel Research showed the clarity of business strategy and growth potential as the two major aspects considered for long-term investment. Where else can it be better explained than in an annual report? The average report reader (shareholder, investor, analyst, stakeholder…) spends indisputably less time reading annuals than in the past (some alarming reports talk about five minutes!). The report lifecycle is also probably shorter than it was (like for many things today). This doesn’t make annuals irrelevant, but certainly implies making them more engaging and compelling, and even sometimes building and structuring them differently towards a better and quicker use. Annual reports have become more oriented towards broader stakeholder audiences than towards shareholders and stock investors only. That has increased readership. According to some recent surveys, one third of investment decisions are based on non-financial attributes. In the last decade, companies producing sustainability or responsibility reports have increased fifteenfold. Balanced scorecard, triple bottom line and integrated reports are no longer exceptions.
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Annual Report on Annual Reports 2013
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“A report created annually that provides an analysis and assessment of the trends of the past year” is the neutral and traditional definition provided by an online accounting website. Today’s reporting should also look forward. Still, too many reports “do not reveal about how companies (will) create value over the long-term,” as Paul Druckman of the International Integrated Reporting Council recently pointed out. “Most annual reports actually say very little about how companies and corporate executives plan to get from point A to point B, or give other information required to gauge future performance,” says Shelley Taylor, a reporting expert. Reporting is increasingly happening online (and going mobile too), with many annuals reaching their audience via special online versions or websites. Things have moved so fast that the web format has almost turned commonplace in some areas. Is the medium the message? Not completely, and hopefully. Online is a channel, like prints still are. It serves as a vehicle for contents, which shouldn’t sacrifice substance to web gimmickry.
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To keep up with trends and changes, and at the same time to maintain continuity, e.com as a report assessment consultancy and ReportWatch as a rating process have tried to strike a balance between keeping old reporting standards and updating/upgrading report evaluation tools (criteria have been grouped and condensed in 2013). Not always an easy job! In the first five years of the Annual Report on Annual Reports two-thirds of top 100 reports were rated B maximum or lower on key reporting areas. This year, 60 percent of top 300 reports have been rated B+ or higher. Despite a gap between lowest marked reports and top ones almost as big as a decade ago, in the 2013 edition there is a 25-mark difference between top 10 annuals and the ones ranked around 200-250. That is much, or a little, depending on the viewpoint. That probably also explains why there is a tie for the number one rank (among many ties -invisible, as marks are not public- in our scoring table), between two annuals picked for various reasons. In its seventeenth edition, the Annual Report on Annual Reports is still made for report makers and advisers who commit themselves to doing a good job, who strive for higher/highest reporting standards, who aim at bringing and adding value for shareholders, investors and other stakeholders. Check it out!
Mike Guillaume Co-Founder and Editor (Still reporting after all these years)
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Annual Report on Annual Reports 2013
Top 400 annual reports
Sasol (No. 1)
An outstanding example of integrated reporting format packed in a simple but effective layout, and also mastering a large number of classic report ingredients and newer features: highlights, business model and value chain, KPIs, risk management, governance, use of charts (also in notes), economic and responsibility measures.
Statoil (No. 1)
Showcases the web first approach. Choose the Explore mode to check performance before entering the online report, which is easy to navigate and never overloaded. Statoil in brief PDF makes a very good read too.
Adidas (No. 3)
Well-run reporting exercise that delivers most strongly on an extensive strategy section, charted performance and financial analysis, outlook (including planned product launches), risk management. CEO interview pulls no punches.
SCA (No. 10)
Packaging is functionally Swedish and paper is finely used: business reviews, risk policies, share data, sustainability, description of costs stand among the pluses.
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Annual Report on Annual Reports 2013
Report rank 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 Company SASOL STATOIL ADIDAS ELECTROLUX BOLIDEN POTASHCORP VOLVO TELUS SAS SCA WÄRTSILÄ ATLAS COPCO ALFA LAVAL WIENERBERGER PHILIPS FORTUM TRELLEBORG CLP AKZONOBEL ERICSSON WOLTERS KLUWER HEXAGON DAIWA HOUSE LAND SECURITIES NESTE OIL ASSA ABLOY SKANSKA M&S (Marks & Spencer) AXFOOD BAYER FUJITSU DANONE RANDSTAD INFINEON Technologies JOHNSON MATTHEY STORA ENSO BASF METSO LUFTHANSA BILLERUDKORSNÄS LINDAB NATIONAL GRID WOLSELEY HOLMEN REXAM NOVO NORDISK MICHELIN BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO SKF HUSQVARNA Country
South Africa Norway Germany Sweden Sweden Canada Sweden Canada Sweden Sweden Finland Sweden Sweden Austria Netherlands Finland Sweden Hong Kong Netherlands Sweden Netherlands Sweden Japan UK Finland Sweden Sweden UK Sweden Germany Japan France Netherlands Germany UK Finland Germany Finland Germany Sweden Sweden UK UK-Switzerland Sweden UK Denmark France UK Sweden Sweden
Report rating A+ A+ A+ A+ A+ A+ A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A AAAAAAAAAAAAAB+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+
Compare
RELIANCE Industries TOTAL NIKE WHIRLPOOL AURUBIS AGRIUM DAIMLER BCE LUFTHANSA KIMBERLY-CLARK MAN SANDVIK TRELLEBORG BORAL GENERAL ELECTRIC VATTENFALL BRIDGESTONE POWER ASSETS DUPONT ALCATEL-LUCENT REED ELSEVIER ZEISS (Carl Zeiss Meditec) SHIMIZU BRITISH LAND STATOIL SECURITAS VINCI H&M (Hennes & Mauritz) ICA BASF IBM NESTLE ADECCO STMicroelectronics UMICORE UPM DOW Chemical ABB AIR FRANCE-KLM SCA ROCKWOOL SSE (Scottish and Southern Energy) KINGFISHER NORSKE SKOG AMCOR SANOFI BRIDGESTONE IMPERIAL TOBACCO MINEBEA ELECTROLUX
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Annual Report on Annual Reports 2013
Wärtsilä (No. 11)
A powerful online version that leaves a big impact (though not on all) also through slides and quick links. Integrated contents deliver best e.g. on targets, sustainability measures, risk management, et al.
AkzoNobel (No. 19)
Well-made interactive key figures. Good insights into the companywide analysis of end-user segments. The construction is fine, yet might deserve a new coat of paint.
Wolters Kluwer (No. 21)
Keeps it simple but does it right. Reader-friendly and extremely informative, both online and on paper: quick intro, highlighted words, tags, portaits, cross-references.
Fujitsu (No. 31)
There are not so many examples of ICT companies setting out the strategy so clearly and reporting about business so comprehensively.
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Annual Report on Annual Reports 2013
Report rank 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 Company BOMBARDIER DAIMLER LEMMINKÄINEN LANXESS TECHNIP TORAY BALFOUR BEATTY WPP HEINEKEN SMITHS CONCORDIA Maritime SAPPI SANDVIK SWEDISH MATCH METRO SECURITAS STRAUMANN SUMITOMO THYSSENKRUPP ASTRAZENECA PACIFIC BASIN ANGLO AMERICAN AURUBIS CENTRICA ACCOR NUTRECO SAAB OUTOKUMPU VODAFONE TDC BG HEIDELBERG SIEMENS CRAMO TESCO MVV ENERGIE AHOLD ADARO Energy DIMO (Diesel & Motor Engineering) STRABAG AIR LIQUIDE UPM ROCHE VATTENFALL KESKO HENKEL JM BRITISH LAND EVN SABMILLER Country
Canada Germany Finland Germany France Japan UK Jersey Netherlands UK Sweden South Africa Sweden Sweden Germany Sweden Switzerland Japan Germany UK Hong Kong UK Germany UK France Netherlands Sweden Finland UK Denmark UK Germany Germany Finland UK Germany Netherlands Indonesia Sri Lanka Austria France Finland Switzerland Sweden Finland Germany Sweden UK Austria UK
Report rating B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+
Compare
ALSTOM VOLKSWAGEN JM ARKEMA FLUOR TEIJIN AMEC PUBLICIS CARLSBERG EMERSON MAERSK (A.P. Moller - Maersk) STORA ENSO ATLAS COPCO IMPERIAL TOBACCO CARREFOUR G4S NOBEL BIOCARE MITSUBISHI ARCELORMITTAL GSK (GlaxoSmithKline) EVERGREEN BHP BILLITON BOLIDEN BG IHG (InterContinental Hotels) CERMAQ BAE Systems ACERINOX CHINA MOBILE TELIASONERA CENTRICA BALDWIN Technology ABB SPEEDY HIRE MORRISONS RWE DELHAIZE BUMI Resources BARLOWORLD HOCHTIEF LINDE STORA ENSO NOVARTIS FORTUM AXFOOD UNILEVER LEMMINKÄINEN LAND SECURITIES VATTENFALL ANHEUSER-BUSCH INBEV
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Annual Report on Annual Reports 2013
Metso (No. 38)
Solid contents (business, markets, sustainability) a bit let down by a winding way throughout the online and the long PDF (without table of contents).
Wolseley (No. 43)
Well-built online and strong reporting material on KPIs, business model, risk management and governance.
Michelin (No. 47)
Different and better than many indeed, not least in successfully integrating strategic and sustainability issues.
Bombardier (No. 51)
High-flying MD&A that transports readers swiftly through the economic environment, clear KPIs, free cash flows, risks, market indicators, et al.
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Annual Report on Annual Reports 2013
Report rank 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 Company SEMPERIT CORIO HALMA UMICORE ANA (All Nippon Airways) WESSANEN SHANKS NOVARTIS BILFINGER MORRISONS MITSUBISHI SEB TEIJIN FUJIFILM KEMIRA VOLKSWAGEN AIR FRANCE-KLM NYRSTAR MARUBENI ALLIANDER NOBIA PUMA AUTOLIV THOMSON REUTERS LINDE METSÄ BOARD DEUTSCHE POST DHL EDP (Energias de Portugal) CONTINENTAL HYDRO-QUEBEC GSK (GlaxoSmithKline) ROYAL DUTCH SHELL TELEKOM AUSTRIA SAINT-GOBAIN JKH (John Keells) SYNGENTA ENIRO NORSKE SKOG CLARIANT NOVOZYMES MACINTOSH Retail ARKEMA HITACHI METALS PANASONIC YARA IHG (InterContinental Hotels) ROLLS-ROYCE RTL CHUGAI Pharmaceutical NEXANS Country
Austria Netherlands UK Belgium Japan Netherlands UK Switzerland Germany UK Japan France Japan Japan Finland Germany France Belgium Japan Netherlands Sweden Germany Sweden U.S.-Canada Germany Finland Germany Portugal Germany Canada UK Netherlands-UK Austria France Sri Lanka Switzerland Sweden Norway Switzerland Denmark Netherlands France Japan Japan Norway UK UK Luxembourg Japan France
Report rating B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+
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BD (Becton Dickinson) UNIBAIL-RODAMCO HONEYWELL JOHNSON MATTHEY SINGAPORE AIRLINES BONDUELLE WASTE MANAGEMENT ROCHE HOCHTIEF TESCO ITOCHU PHILIPS TORAY KODAK (Eastman) DOW Chemical TOYOTA LUFTHANSA UMICORE ITOCHU DONG Energy HOME RETAIL ADIDAS DENSO McGRAW-HILL AIR LIQUIDE STORA ENSO UPS IBERDROLA PIRELLI TRANSALTA PFIZER BP DEUTSCHE TELEKOM AGC (Asahi Glass) SWIRE PACIFIC MONSANTO HIBU HOLMEN BASF DSM KESKO LANXESS MITSUBISHI SONY POTASHCORP ACCOR GENERAL ELECTRIC NEWS Corporation TAKEDA Pharmaceutical LEONI
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Annual Report on Annual Reports 2013
Metro (No. 65)
Deutsche Struktur and solid content come at a price, i.e. a 330-page report.
Straumann (No. 67)
An online report that is used to tell a story related to the core business and puts it lively. The printed version is more clinical.
Anglo American (No. 72)
Not lacking in resources: strategic elements translated into performance measures, risk management well described, transparency over governance and reserves.
TDC (No. 63)
Simply put but with high read appeal online and in print. Note the clear bridge charts for year-on-year revenue, EBITDA, equity free cash flow.
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Annual Report on Annual Reports 2013
Report rank 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 Company OMRON FAST RETAILING THOMAS COOK PERNOD RICARD DSM MERCK KGaA UNILEVER DEUTSCHE TELEKOM BT TATE & LYLE HOCHTIEF CERMAQ SCHNEIDER Electric TOYOTA VALLOUREC SHISEIDO HONDA HAYS IMPERIAL TOBACCO HUGO BOSS TOSHIBA POSTNORD ASSOCIATED BRITISH FOODS RENAULT UNIBAIL-RODAMCO DONG Energy SUMITOMO Chemical ASTELLAS Pharma LUNDBECK BERTELSMANN KONICA MINOLTA CASINO (Guichard-Perrachon) SODEXO CATERPILLAR BONDUELLE ACS JENOPTIK TUI DELHAIZE HEIDELBERGCEMENT HOLCIM RWE L'OREAL INNERGEX SOLVAY NESTLE SAP TELKOM INDONESIA ZEISS (Carl Zeiss Meditec) PEARSON Country
Japan Japan UK France Netherlands Germany Netherlands-UK Germany UK UK Germany Norway France Japan France Japan Japan UK UK Germany Japan
Sweden-Denmark
UK France France Denmark Japan Japan Denmark Germany Japan France France U.S. France Spain Germany Germany Belgium Germany Switzerland Germany France Canada Belgium Switzerland Germany Indonesia Germany UK
Report rating B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B+ B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B
Compare
HONEYWELL H&M (Hennes & Mauritz) TUI DIAGEO AKZONOBEL BAYER PROCTER & GAMBLE ORANGE VODAFONE ASSOCIATED BRITISH FOODS ACS NUTRECO ABB HONDA TATA Steel KAO TOYOTA RANDSTAD BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO H&M (Hennes & Mauritz) FUJITSU POSTNL TATE & LYLE PSA PEUGEOT CITROEN LAND SECURITIES VATTENFALL MITSUBISHI Chemical TAKEDA Pharmaceutical NOVO NORDISK RTL CANON AUCHAN COMPASS KOMATSU WESSANEN HOCHTIEF ROFIN THOMAS COOK AHOLD HOLCIM LAFARGE E.ON ESTEE LAUDER HYDRO-QUEBEC UCB DANONE ORACLE TM (Telekom Malaysia) JENOPTIK McGRAW-HILL
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Annual Report on Annual Reports 2013
Dimo (Diesel & Motor Engineering) (No. 89)
A very diversified trading group from Sri Lanka achieves a wellcontrolled and finely designed integrated exercise.
Roche (No. 93)
Design is a bit clinical, but the value of innovation is demonstrated through very good insights into the company purpose and therapeutic solutions.
British Land (No. 98)
Well-set KPIs. Risks and impacts and Key mitigants made very clear. Financial policies and principles defined precisely.
Umicore (No. 104)
Offers a comprehensive and integrated view of… economic, financial, environmental and social performance, write the report makers. The are right, and the piece is a nicely constructed.
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Annual Report on Annual Reports 2013
Report rank 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 Company AF BARLOWORLD UCB BAE Systems REZIDOR Hotel SEMCON LONZA INDRA CASCADES CENOVUS Energy VOSSLOH BMW MONDI SONY LEONI SEVERN TRENT KOMATSU ASAHI EVRAZ TELE2 BABCOCK ESSILOR INDITEX KPN COMPASS VEOLIA Environnement JX GENERAL ELECTRIC AUDI NORILSK NICKEL CARLSBERG ARCADIS CIC TRANSALTA BP ADECCO REED ELSEVIER TAKEDA Pharmaceutical VOESTALPINE BELGACOM SPEEDY HIRE RENTOKIL INITIAL RIO TINTO VINCI LUXOTTICA OMV LVMH NOBEL BIOCARE DR. REDDY'S Laboratories HSH (Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels) Country
Sweden South Africa Belgium UK
Belgium-Sweden
Sweden Switzerland Spain Canada Canada Germany Germany UK-South Africa Japan Germany UK Japan Japan UK-Russia Sweden UK France Spain Netherlands UK France Japan U.S. Germany Russia Denmark Netherlands Sri Lanka Canada UK Switzerland UK-Netherlands Japan Austria Belgium UK UK Australia-UK France Italy Austria France Switzerland India Hong Kong
Report rating B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B
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SEMCON KOMATSU SOLVAY GENERAL DYNAMICS ACCOR AF DSM INFOSYS Technologies DOMTAR CANADIAN NATURAL Resources SIEMENS AUDI HOLMEN PANASONIC NEXANS UNITED UTILITIES CATERPILLAR SAPPORO ARCELORMITTAL TELIASONERA ROLLS-ROYCE ALLERGAN H&M (Hennes & Mauritz) BELGACOM SODEXO GDF SUEZ COSMO Oil SIEMENS BMW VALE HEINEKEN SNC-LAVALIN SYNGENTA HYDRO-QUEBEC ROYAL DUTCH SHELL RANDSTAD WOLTERS KLUWER ASTELLAS Pharma THYSSENKRUPP KPN CRAMO G4S BHP BILLITON BOUYGUES ALLERGAN MOL KERING STRAUMANN DAIICHI SANKYO SHANGRI-LA Asia
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Annual Report on Annual Reports 2013
Air France-KLM (No. 117)
The Report reads like an in-flight magazine, but the Registration Document is a heavy load.
Puma (No. 102)
Stakeholder engagement is the jumping-off point of an integrated report that shows tangible actions in sustainable practices.
Deutsche Post DHL (No. 127)
Shanghaied. A good business report that doesn't travel lightest.
Saint-Gobain (No. 134)
A rock-solid Sustainable Development Report, also easier to read than the Registration Document, which is nevertheless required to get the full picture.
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Annual Report on Annual Reports 2013
Report rank 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300 Company RUSHYDRO TOTAL GIVAUDAN VALEO SEVERSTAL DOCOMO (NTT Docomo) DIAGEO MAN SWIRE PACIFIC SMITH & NEPHEW PTT PSA PEUGEOT CITROEN SHIRE ARLA EADS BARRICK XEROX ITOCHU REE PEPSICO MITSUI TM (Telekom Malaysia) EXXONMOBIL FINNAIR BEKAERT SCHINDLER ICA KINGFISHER SALZGITTER LAFARGE FLSMIDTH J SAINSBURY IAG (International Airlines) HUSKY Energy SAGE COCA-COLA NTT G4S ESTEE LAUDER GORENJE INVENSYS ENCANA UNITED TECHNOLOGIES PETRONAS SANOFI IOI JERONIMO MARTINS HUTCHISON WHAMPOA TNB (Tenaga Nasional) LUKOIL Country
Russia France Switzerland France Russia Japan UK Germany Hong Kong UK Thailand France Ireland Denmark Netherlands Canada U.S. Japan Spain U.S. Japan Malaysia U.S. Finland Belgium Switzerland Sweden UK Germany France Denmark UK UK-Spain Canada UK U.S. Japan UK U.S. Slovenia UK Canada U.S. Malaysia France Malaysia Portugal Hong Kong Malaysia Russia
Report rating B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B BBB-
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HYDRO-QUEBEC BP IFF DENSO EVRAZ NTT PERNOD RICARD DAIMLER HUTCHISON WHAMPOA ZIMMER PETRONAS RENAULT UCB DANONE BOEING ANGLOGOLD ASHANTI CANON MITSUBISHI REN COCA-COLA MARUBENI TELKOM INDONESIA ROYAL DUTCH SHELL SAS NHK Spring KONE AXFOOD WOLSELEY THYSSENKRUPP SAINT-GOBAIN HOLCIM TESCO AIR FRANCE-KLM SUNCOR Energy SAP PEPSICO CHINA TELECOM SECURITAS AVON Products ARCELIK HONEYWELL CANADIAN NATURAL GENERAL ELECTRIC SABIC NOVARTIS SIME DARBY SONAE JARDINE MATHESON CLP GAZPROM
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Annual Report on Annual Reports 2013
Hitachi Metals (No. 143)
A quick Performance Overview charts four major indicators over 12 years. Good start for a report made material to help increase understanding of business. But access to financial information is not easy.
Rolls-Royce (No. 147)
Not a bad report, yet a search engine is needed to go beyond -or behind- the various underlying items. Design is a bit of routine British job.
Chugai Pharmaceutical (No. 149)
Strategy made very clear, well-charted business overview and Research, focus on Proprietary Technologies, overview of diseases and treatment methods.
Pernod Ricard (No. 154)
For investors of age only. Access to annual report not easiest, despite its hackneyed Connected title. Key figures not within reach. Still, the review makes up a strongly branded brew.
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Annual Report on Annual Reports 2013
Report rank 301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 310 311 312 313 314 315 316 317 318 319 320 321 322 323 324 325 326 327 328 329 330 331 332 333 334 335 336 337 338 339 340 341 342 343 344 345 346 347 348 349 350 Company AREVA AGRIUM TIETO INFOSYS FRESENIUS E.ON WIPRO ROGERS Communications GEA HINDALCO Industries KUEHNE + NAGEL BUMI Resources WOOLWORTHS SSE (Scottish and Southern Energy) DOW Chemical BURBERRY LOBLAW TATA Steel ALSTOM KAO REN MARIMEKKO HOME RETAIL BOSTON SCIENTIFIC CARREFOUR CANADIAN NATURAL JAPAN TOBACCO CHEVRON ENI CONOCOPHILLIPS FLUOR TIM HORTONS COSMO Oil ARCELIK YAMAHA DENSO MOL TURKCELL MANPOWER COLGATE-PALMOLIVE RICOH TATA Motors SWISSCOM SIME DARBY LENOVO LUPIN ANGLOGOLD ASHANTI TELIASONERA HAYLEYS GDF SUEZ Country
France Canada Finland India Germany Germany India Canada Germany India Switzerland Indonesia Australia UK U.S. UK Canada India France Japan Portugal Finland UK U.S. France Canada Japan U.S. Italy U.S. U.S. Canada Japan Turkey Japan Japan Hungary Turkey U.S. U.S. Japan India Switzerland Malaysia Hong Kong India South Africa Sweden Sri Lanka France
Report rating BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB-
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GENERAL ELECTRIC POTASHCORP INVENSYS TCS (Tata Consultancy Services) BAXTER RWE INFOSYS TELUS ALFA LAVAL RIO TINTO DEUTSCHE POST DHL ADARO Energy WESFARMERS CENTRICA DUPONT M&S (Marks & Spencer) WOOLWORTHS ARCELORMITTAL SIEMENS SHISEIDO REE KESKO NOBIA MEDTRONIC METRO ENCANA BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO EXXONMOBIL TOTAL CHEVRON TECHNIP STARBUCKS JX WHIRLPOOL SONY JOHNSON CONTROLS OMV TELIASONERA RANDSTAD PROCTER & GAMBLE CANON SUZUKI TELECOM ITALIA IOI ACER SUN PHARMA BARRICK TELENOR SIME DARBY EDF
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Annual Report on Annual Reports 2013
Renault (No. 174)
The Annual Report goes for an animated compact platform (64 pages) based on wishes and makes a pleasant read. But a heavy 300page Registration Document is required to know about the steering and the financial engine.
Sumitomo Chemical (No. 177)
Business Sector Highlights do a very good job. An input-output diagram sets out clearly Primary Environmental Performance.
Konica Minolta (No. 181)
Shows the limits of online-only: it takes more time to navigate and read through all sections than it would take with a PDF, for which only a summary is provided.
Delhaize (No. 189)
An online version that is more static than it looks (deficit in hyperlinks, poor interface) and a financial review that isn't meaty. A pleasant read, though.
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Annual Report on Annual Reports 2013
Report rank 351 352 353 354 355 356 357 358 359 360 361 362 363 364 365 366 367 368 369 370 371 372 373 374 375 376 377 378 379 380 381 382 383 384 385 386 387 388 389 390 391 392 393 394 395 396 397 398 399 400 Company POWER ASSETS UNITED UTILITIES ENTERGY SONAE AUCHAN ORANGE CAMECO FEDEX ABBOTT XTEP NIPPON EXPRESS CLOROX SHARP ROSNEFT WHIRLPOOL ORLEN GENERAL MILLS NIPPON STEEL ABB BHP BILLITON PFIZER SPH (Singapore Press) GALP Energia BOUYGUES ANHEUSER-BUSCH INBEV AMEC WHITBREAD CRH REPSOL SUNCOR Energy WEYERHAEUSER TALISMAN Energy KELLOGG ESPRIT AGC (Asahi Glass) EMERSON BORAL OMNITECH YUM! Brands KONE ACTELION SNC-LAVALIN AHLSTROM MM Karton (Mayr-Melnhof) SINGTEL GAZPROM IBM BARCO WESFARMERS PHILIP MORRIS Country
Hong Kong UK U.S. Portugal France France Canada U.S. U.S. Hong Kong Japan U.S. Japan Russia U.S. Poland U.S. Japan Switzerland Australia-UK U.S. Singapore Portugal France Belgium UK UK Ireland Spain Canada U.S. Canada U.S.
Hong Kong-Bermuda
Japan U.S. Australia India U.S. Finland Switzerland Canada Finland Austria Singapore Russia U.S. Belgium Australia U.S.
Report rating BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB-
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CLP SEVERN TRENT EDISON JERONIMO MARTINS CARREFOUR BT AREVA UPS MERCK ADIDAS FEDEX RECKITT BENCKISER PANASONIC EXXONMOBIL ELECTROLUX MOL KELLOGG ARCELORMITTAL SIEMENS RIO TINTO JOHNSON & JOHNSON NEXT Media EDP (Energias de Portugal) VINCI HEINEKEN BALFOUR BEATTY ACCOR HOLCIM TOTAL CANADIAN NATURAL INTERNATIONAL PAPER APACHE GENERAL MILLS INDITEX SAINT-GOBAIN GENERAL ELECTRIC CRH INFOSYS Technologies McDONALD's SCHINDLER AMICUS Therapeutics ARCADIS BEMIS METSÄ BOARD VODAFONE LUKOIL HP (Hewlett-Packard) PANASONIC WOOLWORTHS BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO
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Annual Report on Annual Reports 2013
Other reports compared and rated
Alcoa (N/R)
Substantiated Chairman and CEO message, followed by a flat-rolled 10-K not up to long-gone strong Alcoa annuals.
ConAgra Foods (N/R)
The meat lies in the narrative. Then come a hundred pages of tasteless financials.
DuPont (N/R)
Low report chemistry: the Annual Review is an-8 page advertorial of trademarks, the financials are another raw 10-K, and a dull Data Book is required for grasping the numbers.
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Annual Report on Annual Reports 2013
Annual report ACER ACERINOX ACTIVE BIOTECH ADM (Archer Daniels Midland) AEON AEP (American Electric Power) AES ALCATEL-LUCENT ALCOA ALLERGAN ALTRIA AMCOR AMER Sports AMGEN AMICUS Therapeutics ANTAM APACHE APPLE ARCELORMITTAL AVERY DENNISON AVON Products BALDWIN Technology BAXTER BCE BD (Becton Dickinson) BEMIS BHARAT PETROLEUM BHARTI AIRTEL BIOGEN IDEC BLACKBERRY BOEING BRIDGESTONE BRISTOL-MYERS SQUIBB BURGER KING CALPINE CAMPBELL SOUP CANON CATHAY PACIFIC CELANESE CENTERRA Gold CEZ CHALCO CHINA MOBILE CHINA TELECOM CIPLA MEDPRO CISCO Systems CITIZEN CNOOC COLOPLAST CONAGRA FOODS Country Taiwan Spain Sweden U.S. Japan U.S. U.S. France U.S. U.S. U.S. Australia Finland U.S. U.S. Indonesia U.S. U.S. Luxembourg U.S. U.S. U.S. U.S. Canada U.S. U.S. India India U.S. Canada U.S. Japan U.S. U.S. U.S. U.S. Japan Hong Kong U.S. Canada Czech Republic China Hong Kong China South Africa U.S. Japan Hong Kong Denmark U.S. Report rating CD C+ D C+ C C CC+ BC+ BC+ CCC+ C+ CCC CCC+ BC BC+ C+ BCBC+ BCCC+ BBCC+ BC C+ BC+ C D C+ C BCompare LENOVO OUTOKUMPU IPSEN TATE & LYLE TESCO AES AEP (American Electric Power) CISCO Systems CHALCO ESSILOR BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO REXAM ADIDAS MYLAN ACTELION ADARO Energy TALISMAN Energy MICROSOFT NIPPON STEEL BEMIS ESTEE LAUDER HEIDELBERG MEDTRONIC TELUS BAXTER AVERY DENNISON HINDUSTAN PETROLEUM RELIANCE Communications FOREST Laboratories NOKIA EADS CONTINENTAL LILLY (Eli Lilly) McDONALD's AES HEINZ XEROX SINGAPORE AIRLINES LANXESS ENTREE Gold MOL ALCOA VODAFONE CHINA MOBILE DR. REDDY'S Laboratories ALCATEL-LUCENT SWATCH PETROCHINA BD (Becton Dickinson) GENERAL MILLS
23
Annual Report on Annual Reports 2013
Epson (N/R)
Annual Reports are only available online. Why then not taking the trouble to produce a real online version and something else than a tedious PDF?
Fiat (N/R)
Slow motion. 350 pages built in a one-column chassis that makes for tedious reading and makes little showroom for cars.
H&M (Hennes & Mauritz) (N/R)
Full of make-up (and a few tattoos), but lacks the financial (report) muscle.
24
Annual Report on Annual Reports 2013
Annual report CONSOL Energy COVIDIEN DAIICHI SANKYO DALMIA Bharat DEERE DENTSU DOMTAR DPL (Dipped Products) DUKE ENERGY DUPONT EDF EDISON EGCO ENEL ENTREE Gold EPSON (Seiko Epson) EVERGREEN EXELON FIAT FIVES FMC FORD FOREST Laboratories FORTUNE BRANDS GAS NATURAL FENOSA GENERAL DYNAMICS GENERAL MOTORS GILEAD Sciences GOODYEAR GOOGLE H&M (Hennes & Mauritz) HANESBRANDS HARLEY-DAVIDSON HEINZ HIBU HINDUSTAN PETROLEUM HITACHI HOME DEPOT HONEYWELL HONG KONG AND CHINA GAS HP (Hewlett-Packard) HT Media HUANENG POWER HYUNDAI IBERDROLA IFF INDIAN OIL INDUTRADE INGERSOLL RAND INTEL Country U.S. Ireland Japan India U.S. Japan Canada Sri Lanka U.S. U.S. France U.S. Thailand Italy Canada Japan Taiwan U.S. Italy France U.S. U.S. U.S. U.S. Spain U.S. U.S. U.S. U.S. U.S. Sweden U.S. U.S. U.S. UK India Japan U.S. U.S. Hong Kong U.S. India China South Korea Spain U.S. India Sweden Ireland U.S. Report rating CC+ C+ BBBBC+ C+ C+ BC+ BBCCD BC+ C BC+ CC C+ CC+ C+ C D C+ CC+ C+ C+ CBC+ CC+ CC+ C+ D BC+ BC+ C+ C Compare PEABODY Energy BD (Becton Dickinson) TAKEDA Pharmaceutical LAFARGE CATERPILLAR PUBLICIS CASCADES HAYLEYS EDISON DOW Chemical GDF SUEZ ENTERGY CLP EDF CENTERRA Gold CANON PACIFIC BASIN EDISON PSA PEUGEOT CITROEN METSO SUMITOMO Chemical GENERAL MOTORS BIOGEN IDEC NEWELL RUBBERMAID IBERDROLA BAE Systems TOYOTA AMGEN BRIDGESTONE MICROSOFT INDITEX WOLFORD HONDA CAMPBELL SOUP ENIRO BHARAT PETROLEUM FUJITSU KINGFISHER UNITED TECHNOLOGIES HUANENG POWER IBM NEXT Media CLP TOYOTA GAS NATURAL FENOSA GIVAUDAN HINDUSTAN PETROLEUM MITSUBISHI ASSA ABLOY SAMSUNG Electronics
25
Annual Report on Annual Reports 2013
Indian Oil (N/R)
Was the 53rd Annual Report made in 2012, really? The layout seems to come from a printing press before oil discovery.
Johnson & Johnson (N/R)
Reading this annual report -once ranked in top 50- produces the same effect as a sleeping pill.
Kimberly-Clark (N/R)
What's the difference between a 10-K on paper and online? The latter is as insipid but doesn't have to be pulped.
26
Annual Report on Annual Reports 2013
Annual report INTERNATIONAL PAPER IPG (Interpublic) IPSEN IRC JARDINE MATHESON JOHNSON & JOHNSON JOHNSON CONTROLS KERING KIA Motors KIMBERLY-CLARK KODAK (Eastman) KRAFT Foods KYOCERA LG Electronics LILLY (Eli Lilly) LOGITECH 3M MAERSK (A.P Moller - Maersk) MARATHON OIL MARRIOTT MAZDA McDONALD's McGRAW-HILL FINANCIAL MEDTRONIC MERCK METHANEX MICROSOFT MINEBEA MITSUBISHI Chemical MOLEX MONSANTO MOSAIC MOTOROLA Solutions MYLAN NAVISTAR NEC NEW YORK TIMES NEWELL RUBBERMAID NEWS Corporation NEXT Media NHK Spring NIKE NIKON NISSAN NOBLE NOKIA NUCLEUS Software OMNICOM ONGC ORACLE Country U.S. U.S. France
Hong Kong-Russia
Hong Kong U.S. U.S. France South Korea U.S. U.S. U.S. Japan South Korea U.S. Switzerland U.S. Denmark U.S. U.S. Japan U.S. U.S. U.S. U.S. Canada U.S. Japan Japan U.S. U.S. U.S. U.S. U.S. U.S. Japan U.S. U.S. U.S. Hong Kong Japan U.S. Japan Japan Hong Kong Finland India U.S. India U.S.
Report rating CCC+ C+ BC CC+ C+ CD CC+ BC+ C+ CC+ CBC+ C C C CC+ CC+ C+ C CC+ CCC+ BCC C BC+ CC+ C BC+ C+ CC+ D
Compare WEYERHAEUSER WPP ACTIVE BIOTECH VALE HUTCHISON WHAMPOA PFIZER OMRON LVMH HYUNDAI SCA FUJIFILM NESTLE SHARP SAMSUNG Electronics BRISTOL-MYERS SQUIBB MICROSOFT DUPONT CONCORDIA Maritime VALERO Energy ACCOR NISSAN YUM! Brands PEARSON BAXTER ABBOTT SASOL ORACLE SKF SUMITOMO Chemical TE Connectivity SYNGENTA POTASHCORP SAMSUNG Electronics RANBAXY Laboratories VOLVO FUJITSU TIME WARNER FORTUNE BRANDS TIME WARNER SPH (Singapore Press) BEKAERT ADIDAS CANON MAZDA MARUBENI SAMSUNG Electronics WIPRO WPP INDIAN OIL MICROSOFT
27
Annual Report on Annual Reports 2013
Petrochina (N/R)
The report as a necessary evil -or almost: basic layout, messy structure, insufficient contents.
Pirelli (N/R)
Pumped up and tiresome: the full PDF is 440 pages long. Investors and other holders surely miss the calendar.
Procter & Gamble (N/R)
P&G has now gone 10-K with just a bit of CEO soapbox before.
28
Annual Report on Annual Reports 2013
Annual report ORION PAPERLINX PARMALAT PDVSA PEABODY Energy PETROBRAS PETROCHINA PIONEER PIRELLI POLO RALPH LAUREN PORSCHE POSTNL PPG Industries PROCTER & GAMBLE PUBLICIS QANTAS QUALCOMM RAPALA RECKITT BENCKISER RELIANCE Communications RELIANCE Industries ROCKWOOL ROFIN RYANAIR SABIC SAIC Motor SAMSUNG Electronics SAPPORO SEKISUI HOUSE SHANGRI-LA Asia SHIMIZU SINGAPORE AIRLINES SINOPEC SPECTRUM BRANDS STARBUCKS STEELCASE STMicroelectronics SUN PHARMA SUZLON Energy SUZUKI SWATCH TCS (Tata Consultancy Services) TE Connectivity TELECOM ITALIA TELEFONICA TELENOR TELSTRA TEMBEC TENNECO TERUMO Country Finland Australia Italy Venezuela U.S. Brazil China Japan Italy U.S. Germany Netherlands U.S. U.S. France Australia U.S. Finland UK India India Denmark Germany-U.S. Ireland Saudi Arabia China South Korea Japan Japan
Bermuda-Hong Kong
Japan Singapore China U.S. U.S. U.S. Switzerland India India Japan Switzerland India Switzerland-U.S. Italy Spain Norway Australia Canada U.S. Japan
Report rating C+ C C+ D BD C C+ C CC+ C+ C+ C+ C+ C+ CC+ BC C C C+ C C D C+ BD C C+ BC C CCCC+ C+ CC+ C C+ C+ C C C+ C+ C C
Compare LUNDBECK MONDI ARLA PETROBRAS CONSOL Energy PDVSA SINOPEC PANASONIC MICHELIN BURBERRY VOLKSWAGEN DEUTSCHE POST DHL AKZONOBEL UNILEVER WPP SINGAPORE AIRLINES NOKIA AMER Sports HENKEL BHARTI AIRTEL SASOL LINDAB JENOPTIK LUFTHANSA PETRONAS TOYOTA PANASONIC ASAHI DAIWA HOUSE HSH (Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels) DAIWA HOUSE CATHAY PACIFIC PETROCHINA ENERGIZER TIM HORTONS NOBIA TEXAS INSTRUMENTS LUPIN VESTAS Wind Systems HONDA CITIZEN INFOSYS MOLEX TELEFONICA BT TELIASONERA SINGTEL DOMTAR AUTOLIV BD (Becton Dickinson)
29
Annual Report on Annual Reports 2013
Who ranks where?
Innergex (No. 194)
The narrative is gripping. A pity that report makers haven't invested more in making the financial part up to it.
Telkom Indonesia (No. 198)
A good dashboard of Financial, Operating, Stock and Bond Highlights. Informative on business, risks and governance. Why making it so long? (Almost 400 pages.)
30
Annual Report on Annual Reports 2013
Annual report ABB ABBOTT ACCOR ACER ACERINOX ACS ACTELION ACTIVE BIOTECH ADARO Energy ADECCO ADIDAS ADM (Archer Daniels Midland) AEON AEP (American Electric Power) AES AF AGC (Asahi Glass) AGRIUM AHLSTROM AHOLD AIR FRANCE-KLM AIR LIQUIDE AKZONOBEL ALCATEL-LUCENT ALCOA ALFA LAVAL ALLERGAN ALLIANDER ALSTOM ALTRIA AMCOR AMEC AMER Sports AMGEN AMICUS Therapeutics ANA (All Nippon Airways) ANGLO AMERICAN ANGLOGOLD ASHANTI ANHEUSER-BUSCH INBEV ANTAM APACHE APPLE ARCADIS ARCELIK ARCELORMITTAL AREVA ARKEMA ARLA ASAHI ASSA ABLOY Country
Switzerland U.S. France Taiwan Spain Spain Switzerland Sweden Indonesia Switzerland Germany U.S. Japan U.S. U.S. Sweden Japan Canada Finland Netherlands France France Netherlands France U.S. Sweden U.S. Netherlands France U.S. Australia UK Finland U.S. U.S. Japan UK South Africa Belgium Indonesia U.S. U.S. Netherlands Turkey Luxembourg France France Denmark Japan Sweden
Rank 369 359 75 N/R N/R 186 391 N/R 88 236 3 N/R N/R N/R N/R 201 385 302 393 87 117 91 19 N/R N/R 13 N/R 120 319 N/R N/R 376 N/R N/R N/R 105 72 347 375 N/R N/R N/R 232 334 N/R 301 142 264 218 26
Rating BBB+ CD B BC+ B+ B A+ D C+ C C B BBBB+ B+ B+ A CC+ A BB+ BC+ BBC+ CCB+ B+ BBC+ C+ CB BCBB+ B B A-
Compare
SIEMENS MERCK IHG (InterContinental Hotels) LENOVO OUTOKUMPU HOCHTIEF AMICUS Therapeutics IPSEN BUMI Resources RANDSTAD NIKE TATE & LYLE TESCO AES AEP (American Electric Power) SEMCON SAINT-GOBAIN POTASHCORP BEMIS DELHAIZE LUFTHANSA LINDE DUPONT CISCO Systems CHALCO TRELLEBORG ESSILOR DONG Energy SIEMENS BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO REXAM BALFOUR BEATTY ADIDAS MYLAN ACTELION SINGAPORE AIRLINES BHP BILLITON BARRICK HEINEKEN ADARO Energy TALISMAN Energy MICROSOFT SNC-LAVALIN WHIRLPOOL NIPPON STEEL GENERAL ELECTRIC LANXESS DANONE SAPPORO SECURITAS
31
Annual Report on Annual Reports 2013
Pearson (No. 200)
The new chief executive message is up to expectations and governance up to best practice. But financials, investor information and design disappoint.
Inditex (No. 223)
A large number of ingredients still make it a top model in sustainability reporting. Other reporting features could be dressed up.
32
Annual Report on Annual Reports 2013
Annual report ASSOCIATED BRITISH FOODS ASTELLAS Pharma ASTRAZENECA ATLAS COPCO AUCHAN AUDI AURUBIS AUTOLIV AVERY DENNISON AVON Products AXFOOD BABCOCK BAE Systems BALDWIN Technology BALFOUR BEATTY BARCO BARLOWORLD BARRICK BASF BAXTER BAYER BCE BD (Becton Dickinson) BEKAERT BELGACOM BEMIS BERTELSMANN BG BHARAT PETROLEUM BHARTI AIRTEL BHP BILLITON BILFINGER BILLERUDKORSNÄS BIOGEN IDEC BLACKBERRY BMW BOEING BOLIDEN BOMBARDIER BONDUELLE BORAL BOSTON SCIENTIFIC BOUYGUES BP BRIDGESTONE BRISTOL-MYERS SQUIBB BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO BRITISH LAND BT BUMI Resources Country
UK Japan UK Sweden France Germany Germany Sweden U.S. U.S. Sweden UK UK U.S. UK Belgium South Africa Canada Germany U.S. Germany Canada U.S. Belgium Belgium U.S. Germany UK India India Australia-UK Germany Sweden U.S. Canada Germany U.S. Sweden Canada France Australia U.S. France UK Japan U.S. UK UK UK Indonesia
Rank 173 178 70 12 355 229 73 123 N/R N/R 29 221 204 N/R 57 398 202 266 37 N/R 30 N/R N/R 275 240 N/R 180 81 N/R N/R 370 109 40 N/R N/R 212 N/R 5 51 185 387 324 374 235 N/R N/R 48 98 159 312
Rating B+ B+ B+ A BB B+ B+ C CAB B CB+ BB B AC+ ABC B B BB B+ C+ C+ BB+ B+ BCB BA+ B+ B BBBB C+ BB+ B+ B+ B-
Compare
TATE & LYLE TAKEDA Pharmaceutical GSK (GlaxoSmithKline) SANDVIK CARREFOUR BMW BOLIDEN DENSO BEMIS ESTEE LAUDER ICA ROLLS-ROYCE GENERAL DYNAMICS HEIDELBERG AMEC PANASONIC KOMATSU ANGLOGOLD ASHANTI DOW Chemical MEDTRONIC BASF TELUS BAXTER NHK Spring KPN AVERY DENNISON RTL CENTRICA HINDUSTAN PETROLEUM RELIANCE Communications RIO TINTO HOCHTIEF SCA FOREST Laboratories NOKIA AUDI EADS AURUBIS ALSTOM WESSANEN CRH MEDTRONIC VINCI ROYAL DUTCH SHELL CONTINENTAL LILLY (Eli Lilly) IMPERIAL TOBACCO LAND SECURITIES VODAFONE ADARO Energy
33
Annual Report on Annual Reports 2013
General Electric (No. 228)
A more convincing Letter to Shareowners than in recent years, a well-illustrated snapshot of business areas, another iPadish online construction, and another unimaginative financial section.
Carlsberg (No. 231)
High risks for last and next year are uncorked. Strategic levers are clear. But the whole is not that sparkling.
34
Annual Report on Annual Reports 2013
Annual report BURBERRY BURGER KING CALPINE CAMECO CAMPBELL SOUP CANADIAN NATURAL CANON CARLSBERG CARREFOUR CASCADES CASINO (Guichard-Perrachon) CATERPILLAR CATHAY PACIFIC CELANESE CENOVUS Energy CENTERRA Gold CENTRICA CERMAQ CEZ CHALCO CHEVRON CHINA MOBILE CHINA TELECOM CHUGAI Pharmaceutical CIC CIPLA MEDPRO CISCO Systems CITIZEN CLARIANT CLOROX CLP CNOOC COCA-COLA COLGATE-PALMOLIVE COLOPLAST COMPASS CONAGRA FOODS CONCORDIA Maritime CONOCOPHILLIPS CONSOL Energy CONTINENTAL CORIO COSMO Oil COVIDIEN CRAMO CRH DAIICHI SANKYO DAIMLER DAIWA HOUSE DALMIA Bharat Country
UK U.S. U.S. Canada U.S. Canada Japan Denmark France Canada France U.S. Hong Kong U.S. Canada Canada UK Norway Czech Republic China U.S. Hong Kong China Japan Sri Lanka South Africa U.S. Japan Switzerland U.S. Hong Kong Hong Kong U.S. U.S. Denmark UK U.S. Sweden U.S. U.S. Germany Netherlands Japan Ireland Finland Ireland Japan Germany Japan India
Rank 316 N/R N/R 357 N/R 326 N/R 231 325 209 182 184 N/R N/R 210 N/R 74 162 N/R N/R 328 N/R N/R 149 233 N/R N/R N/R 139 362 18 N/R 286 340 N/R 225 N/R 61 330 N/R 129 102 333 N/R 84 378 N/R 52 23 N/R
Rating BCCBC+ BBB BB B B BCB C+ B+ B+ BC BC+ BB+ B C+ C D B+ BA C+ B BC B BB+ BCB+ B+ BC+ B+ BC+ B+ A B-
Compare
M&S (Marks & Spencer) McDONALD's AES AREVA HEINZ ENCANA XEROX HEINEKEN METRO DOMTAR AUCHAN KOMATSU SINGAPORE AIRLINES LANXESS CANADIAN NATURAL Resources ENTREE Gold BG NUTRECO MOL ALCOA EXXONMOBIL VODAFONE CHINA MOBILE TAKEDA Pharmaceutical SYNGENTA DR. REDDY'S Laboratories ALCATEL-LUCENT SWATCH BASF RECKITT BENCKISER POWER ASSETS PETROCHINA PEPSICO PROCTER & GAMBLE BD (Becton Dickinson) SODEXO GENERAL MILLS MAERSK (A.P. Moller - Maersk) CHEVRON PEABODY Energy PIRELLI UNIBAIL-RODAMCO JX BD (Becton Dickinson) SPEEDY HIRE HOLCIM TAKEDA Pharmaceutical VOLKSWAGEN SHIMIZU LAFARGE
35
Annual Report on Annual Reports 2013
Vinci (No. 244)
Not shortest (300-plus pages). Still, a commendable effort to build and illustrate- a legal document for better readability.
Total (No. 252)
At a Glance summary keeps most of the read appeal. Apart from this, readers have to dig deep to find the information in more than 450 pages of reporting spread across a few books (multi-books are now commonplace from Big Oil).
36
Annual Report on Annual Reports 2013
Annual report DANONE DEERE DELHAIZE DENSO DENTSU DEUTSCHE POST DHL DEUTSCHE TELEKOM DIAGEO DIMO (Diesel & Motor Engineering) DOCOMO (NTT Docomo) DOMTAR DONG Energy DOW Chemical DPL (Dipped Products) DR. REDDY'S Laboratories DSM DUKE ENERGY DUPONT E.ON EADS EDF EDISON EDP (Energias de Portugal) EGCO ELECTROLUX EMERSON ENCANA ENEL ENI ENIRO ENTERGY ENTREE Gold EPSON (Seiko Epson) ERICSSON ESPRIT ESSILOR ESTEE LAUDER EVERGREEN EVN EVRAZ EXELON EXXONMOBIL FAST RETAILING FEDEX FIAT FINNAIR FIVES FLSMIDTH FLUOR FMC Country
France U.S. Belgium Japan Japan Germany Germany UK Sri Lanka Japan Canada Denmark U.S. Sri Lanka India Netherlands U.S. U.S. Germany Netherlands France U.S. Portugal Thailand Sweden U.S. Canada Italy Italy Sweden U.S. Canada Japan Sweden Hong Kong-Bermuda France U.S. Taiwan Austria UK-Russia U.S. U.S. Japan U.S. Italy Finland France Denmark U.S.
U.S.
Rank 32 N/R 189 336 N/R 127 158 257 89 256 N/R 176 315 N/R 249 155 N/R N/R 306 265 N/R N/R 128 N/R 4 386 292 N/R 329 137 353 N/R N/R 20 384 222 289 N/R 99 219 N/R 273 152 358 N/R 274 N/R 281 331 N/R
Rating ABB BBB+ B+ B B+ B BB+ BC+ B B+ C+ C+ BB BC+ B+ BA+ BB BBB+ BCCA BB B D B+ B BB B+ BC+ B C B BB-
Compare
NESTLE CATERPILLAR AHOLD JOHNSON CONTROLS PUBLICIS UPS ORANGE PERNOD RICARD BARLOWORLD NTT CASCADES VATTENFALL DUPONT HAYLEYS DAIICHI SANKYO AKZONOBEL EDISON DOW Chemical RWE BOEING GDF SUEZ ENTERGY IBERDROLA CLP WHIRLPOOL GENERAL ELECTRIC CANADIAN NATURAL EDF TOTAL HIBU EDISON CENTERRA Gold CANON ALCATEL-LUCENT INDITEX ALLERGAN AVON Products PACIFIC BASIN VATTENFALL ARCELORMITTAL EDISON ROYAL DUTCH SHELL H&M (Hennes & Mauritz) UPS PSA PEUGEOT CITROEN SAS METSO HOLCIM TECHNIP SUMITOMO Chemical
37
Annual Report on Annual Reports 2013
TM (Telekom Malaysia) (No. 272)
With 428 pages, it could be cooler (business review comes late). However, it may connect on governance (where you can even find a Business Continuity Report) and other areas.
IAG (International Airlines) (No. 283)
Estimable attempt to demonstrate the results of British AirwaysIberia merger (see e.g. synergies), diluted by the overuse of consulting buzzwords and business fads.
38
Annual Report on Annual Reports 2013
Annual report FORD FOREST Laboratories FORTUM FORTUNE BRANDS FRESENIUS FUJIFILM FUJITSU G4S GALP Energia GAS NATURAL FENOSA GAZPROM GDF SUEZ GEA GENERAL DYNAMICS GENERAL ELECTRIC GENERAL MILLS GENERAL MOTORS GILEAD Sciences GIVAUDAN GOODYEAR GOOGLE GORENJE GSK (GlaxoSmithKline) H&M (Hennes & Mauritz) HALMA HANESBRANDS HARLEY-DAVIDSON HAYLEYS HAYS HEIDELBERG HEIDELBERGCEMENT HEINEKEN HEINZ HENKEL HEXAGON HIBU HINDALCO Industries HINDUSTAN PETROLEUM HITACHI HITACHI METALS HOCHTIEF HOLCIM HOLMEN HOME DEPOT HOME RETAIL HONDA HONEYWELL HONG KONG AND CHINA GAS HP (Hewlett-Packard) HSH (Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels) Country
U.S. U.S. Finland U.S. Germany Japan Japan UK Portugal Spain Russia France Germany U.S. U.S. U.S. U.S. U.S. Switzerland U.S. U.S. Slovenia UK Sweden UK U.S. U.S. Sri Lanka UK Germany Germany Netherlands U.S. Germany Sweden UK India India Japan Japan Germany Switzerland Sweden U.S. UK Japan U.S. Hong Kong U.S. Hong Kong
Rank N/R N/R 16 N/R 305 114 31 288 373 N/R 396 350 309 N/R 228 367 N/R N/R 253 N/R N/R 290 131 N/R 103 N/R N/R 349 168 82 190 59 N/R 96 22 N/R 310 N/R N/R 143 161 191 44 N/R 323 167 N/R N/R N/R 250
Rating C+ CA C BB+ AB BC+ BBBCB BC+ C+ B C D B B+ C+ B+ CC+ BB+ B+ B B+ C+ B+ A C+ BCBB+ B+ B B+ C+ BB+ CC+ CB
Compare
GENERAL MOTORS BIOGEN IDEC VATTENFALL NEWELL RUBBERMAID BAXTER KODAK (Eastman) IBM SECURITAS EDP (Energias de Portugal) IBERDROLA LUKOIL EDF ALFA LAVAL BAE Systems SIEMENS KELLOGG TOYOTA AMGEN IFF BRIDGESTONE MICROSOFT ARCELIK PFIZER INDITEX HONEYWELL WOLFORD HONDA SIME DARBY RANDSTAD BALDWIN Technology HOLCIM CARLSBERG CAMPBELL SOUP UNILEVER ZEISS (Carl Zeiss Meditec) ENIRO RIO TINTO BHARAT PETROLEUM FUJITSU MITSUBISHI ACS LAFARGE NORSKE SKOG KINGFISHER NOBIA TOYOTA UNITED TECHNOLOGIES HUANENG POWER IBM SHANGRI-LA Asia
39
Annual Report on Annual Reports 2013
Coca-Cola (No. 286)
Same old story in the Review. No flavor in the 10-K.
Gorenje (No. 290)
Restructuring plan, impact and strategy of the Slovenian appliance group clearly set forth. The rest (or the whole) lacks some substance.
40
Annual Report on Annual Reports 2013
Annual report HT Media HUANENG POWER HUGO BOSS HUSKY Energy HUSQVARNA HUTCHISON WHAMPOA HYDRO-QUEBEC HYUNDAI IAG (International Airlines) IBERDROLA IBM ICA IFF IHG (InterContinental Hotels) IMPERIAL TOBACCO INDIAN OIL INDITEX INDRA INDUTRADE INFINEON Technologies INFOSYS INGERSOLL RAND INNERGEX INTEL INTERNATIONAL PAPER INVENSYS IOI IPG (Interpublic) IPSEN IRC ITOCHU J SAINSBURY JAPAN TOBACCO JARDINE MATHESON JENOPTIK JERONIMO MARTINS JKH (John Keells) JM JOHNSON & JOHNSON JOHNSON CONTROLS JOHNSON MATTHEY JX KAO KELLOGG KEMIRA KERING KESKO KIA Motors KIMBERLY-CLARK KINGFISHER Country
India China Germany Canada Sweden Hong Kong Canada South Korea UK-Spain Spain U.S. Sweden U.S. UK UK India Spain Spain Sweden Germany India Ireland Canada U.S. U.S. UK Malaysia U.S. France Hong Kong-Russia Japan UK Japan Hong Kong Germany Portugal Sri Lanka Sweden U.S. U.S. UK Japan Japan U.S. Finland France Finland South Korea U.S. UK
Rank N/R N/R 170 284 50 298 130 N/R 283 N/R 397 277 N/R 146 169 N/R 223 208 N/R 34 304 N/R 194 N/R N/R 291 296 N/R N/R N/R 268 282 327 N/R 187 297 135 97 N/R N/R 35 227 320 383 115 N/R 95 N/R N/R 278
Rating C+ C+ B+ B B+ BB+ D B BBB C+ B+ B+ BB B C+ ABC+ B C CB B CC+ C+ B B BBB B B+ B+ C CAB BBB+ C+ B+ C+ CB
Compare
NEXT Media CLP H&M (Hennes & Mauritz) SUNCOR Energy ELECTROLUX JARDINE MATHESON TRANSALTA TOYOTA AIR FRANCE-KLM GAS NATURAL FENOSA HP (Hewlett-Packard) AXFOOD GIVAUDAN ACCOR BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO HINDUSTAN PETROLEUM H&M (Hennes & Mauritz) INFOSYS Technologies MITSUBISHI STMicroelectronics TCS (Tata Consultancy Services) ASSA ABLOY HYDRO-QUEBEC SAMSUNG Electronics WEYERHAEUSER HONEYWELL SIME DARBY WPP ACTIVE BIOTECH VALE MITSUBISHI TESCO BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO HUTCHISON WHAMPOA ROFIN SONAE SWIRE PACIFIC LEMMINKÄINEN PFIZER OMRON UMICORE COSMO Oil SHISEIDO GENERAL MILLS DOW Chemical LVMH AXFOOD HYUNDAI SCA WOLSELEY
41
Annual Report on Annual Reports 2013
Wipro (No. 307)
Designed more stylishly than many Indian peers. Delivers more on governance and responsibility than on business.
Burberry (No. 316)
Top models but skinny highlights. Well-branded strategy, but there could be much more in store as regards financials.
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Annual Report on Annual Reports 2013
Annual report KODAK (Eastman) KOMATSU KONE KONICA MINOLTA KPN KRAFT Foods KUEHNE + NAGEL KYOCERA LAFARGE LAND SECURITIES LANXESS LEMMINKÄINEN LENOVO LEONI LG Electronics LILLY (Eli Lilly) LINDAB LINDE LOBLAW LOGITECH LONZA L'OREAL LUFTHANSA LUKOIL LUNDBECK LUPIN LUXOTTICA LVMH 3M M&S (Marks & Spencer) MACINTOSH Retail MAERSK (A.P Moller - Maersk) MAN MANPOWER MARATHON OIL MARIMEKKO MARRIOTT MARUBENI MAZDA McDONALD's McGRAW-HILL FINANCIAL MEDTRONIC MERCK MERCK KGaA METHANEX METRO METSÄ BOARD METSO MICHELIN MICROSOFT Country
U.S. Japan Finland Japan Netherlands U.S. Switzerland Japan France UK Germany Finland Hong Kong Germany South Korea U.S. Sweden Germany Canada Switzerland Switzerland France Germany Russia Denmark India Italy France U.S. UK Netherlands Denmark Germany U.S. U.S. Finland U.S. Japan Japan U.S. U.S. U.S. U.S. Germany Canada Germany Finland Finland France U.S.
Rank N/R 217 390 181 224 N/R 311 N/R 280 24 54 53 345 215 N/R N/R 41 125 317 N/R 207 193 39 300 179 346 245 247 N/R 28 141 N/R 258 339 N/R 322 N/R 119 N/R N/R N/R N/R N/R 156 N/R 65 126 38 47 N/R
Rating D B BB B CBC+ B A B+ B+ BB BC+ B+ B+ BC+ B B B+ BB+ BB B CAB+ C+ B BCBBB+ C+ C C C CB+ C+ B+ B+ B+ B+ C-
Compare
FUJIFILM CATERPILLAR SCHINDLER CANON BELGACOM NESTLE DEUTSCHE POST DHL SHARP SAINT-GOBAIN BRITISH LAND ARKEMA JM ACER NEXANS SAMSUNG Electronics BRISTOL-MYERS SQUIBB ROCKWOOL AIR LIQUIDE WOOLWORTHS MICROSOFT DSM ESTEE LAUDER AIR FRANCE-KLM GAZPROM NOVO NORDISK SUN PHARMA ALLERGAN KERING DUPONT H&M (Hennes & Mauritz) KESKO CONCORDIA Maritime DAIMLER RANDSTAD VALERO Energy KESKO ACCOR ITOCHU NISSAN YUM! Brands PEARSON BAXTER ABBOTT BAYER SASOL CARREFOUR STORA ENSO ABB BRIDGESTONE ORACLE
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Tata Steel (No. 318)
The cornerstones of sustainability are not really sustained inside and lack combined reporting measures to substantiate.
Mol (No. 337)
Good integration of sustainability figures and performance analysis. Clear Status of exploration and appraisal wells. But it should dig deeper.
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Annual Report on Annual Reports 2013
Annual report MINEBEA MITSUBISHI MITSUBISHI Chemical MITSUI MM Karton (Mayr-Melnhof) MOL MOLEX MONDI MONSANTO MORRISONS MOSAIC MOTOROLA Solutions MVV ENERGIE MYLAN NATIONAL GRID NAVISTAR NEC NESTE OIL NESTLE NEW YORK TIMES NEWELL RUBBERMAID NEWS Corporation NEXANS NEXT Media NHK Spring NIKE NIKON NIPPON EXPRESS NIPPON STEEL NISSAN NOBEL BIOCARE NOBIA NOBLE NOKIA NORILSK NICKEL NORSKE SKOG NOVARTIS NOVO NORDISK NOVOZYMES NTT NUCLEUS Software NUTRECO NYRSTAR OMNICOM OMNITECH OMRON OMV ONGC ORACLE ORANGE Country
Japan Japan Japan Japan Austria Hungary U.S. UK-South Africa U.S. UK U.S. U.S. Germany U.S. UK U.S. Japan Finland Switzerland U.S. U.S. U.S. France Hong Kong Japan U.S. Japan Japan Japan Japan Switzerland Sweden Hong Kong Finland Russia Norway Switzerland Denmark Denmark Japan India Netherlands Belgium U.S. India Japan Austria India U.S. France
Rank N/R 111 N/R 271 394 337 N/R 213 N/R 110 N/R N/R 86 N/R 42 N/R N/R 25 196 N/R N/R N/R 150 N/R N/R N/R N/R 361 368 N/R 248 121 N/R N/R 230 138 108 46 140 287 N/R 76 118 N/R 388 151 246 N/R N/R 356
Rating C+ B+ C+ B BBC B CB+ C+ CB+ CB+ C+ BAB CC C B+ BC+ CC+ BBC B B+ BC+ B B+ B+ B+ B+ B C+ B+ B+ CBB+ B C+ D B-
Compare
SKF ITOCHU SUMITOMO Chemical MARUBENI METSÄ BOARD OMV TE Connectivity HOLMEN SYNGENTA TESCO POTASHCORP SAMSUNG Electronics RWE RANBAXY Laboratories SSE (Scottish and Southern Energy) VOLVO FUJITSU STATOIL DANONE TIME WARNER FORTUNE BRANDS TIME WARNER LEONI SPH (Singapore Press) BEKAERT ADIDAS CANON FEDEX ARCELORMITTAL MAZDA STRAUMANN HOME RETAIL MARUBENI SAMSUNG Electronics VALE HOLMEN ROCHE SANOFI DSM CHINA TELECOM WIPRO CERMAQ UMICORE WPP INFOSYS Technologies HONEYWELL MOL INDIAN OIL MICROSOFT BT
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Annual Report on Annual Reports 2013
Tata Motors (No. 342)
The maker of Pixel cars and buyer of Jaguar has improved the reporting vehicle (especially the MD&A and risks), yet the business review is short on fuel.
FedEx (No. 358)
To stay ahead, we go beyond, states the cover. Content- and stylewise, it transports backward.
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Annual Report on Annual Reports 2013
Annual report ORION ORLEN OUTOKUMPU PACIFIC BASIN PANASONIC PAPERLINX PARMALAT PDVSA PEABODY Energy PEARSON PEPSICO PERNOD RICARD PETROBRAS PETROCHINA PETRONAS PFIZER PHILIP MORRIS PHILIPS PIONEER PIRELLI POLO RALPH LAUREN PORSCHE POSTNL POSTNORD POTASHCORP POWER ASSETS PPG Industries PROCTER & GAMBLE PSA PEUGEOT CITROEN PTT PUBLICIS PUMA QANTAS QUALCOMM RANDSTAD RAPALA RECKITT BENCKISER REE REED ELSEVIER RELIANCE Communications RELIANCE Industries REN RENAULT RENTOKIL INITIAL REPSOL REXAM REZIDOR Hotel RICOH RIO TINTO ROCHE Country
Finland Poland Finland Hong Kong Japan Australia Italy Venezuela U.S. UK U.S. France Brazil China Malaysia U.S. U.S. Netherlands Japan Italy U.S. Germany Netherlands Sweden-Denmark Canada Hong Kong U.S. U.S. France Thailand France Germany Australia U.S. Netherlands Finland UK Spain UK-Netherlands India India Portugal France UK Spain UK Belgium-Sweden Japan Australia-UK Switzerland
Rank N/R 366 78 71 144 N/R N/R N/R N/R 200 270 154 N/R N/R 294 371 400 15 N/R N/R N/R N/R N/R 172 6 351 N/R N/R 262 261 N/R 122 N/R N/R 33 N/R N/R 269 237 N/R N/R 321 174 242 379 45 205 341 243 93
Rating C+ BB+ B+ B+ C C+ D BB B B+ D C B BBA C+ C CC+ C+ B+ A+ BC+ C+ B B C+ B+ C+ CAC+ BB B C C BB+ B BB+ B BB B+
Compare
LUNDBECK MOL ACERINOX EVERGREEN SONY MONDI ARLA PETROBRAS CONSOL Energy McGRAW-HILL COCA-COLA DIAGEO PDVSA SINOPEC SABIC JOHNSON & JOHNSON BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO GENERAL ELECTRIC PANASONIC MICHELIN BURBERRY VOLKSWAGEN DEUTSCHE POST DHL POSTNL AGRIUM CLP AKZONOBEL UNILEVER RENAULT PETRONAS WPP ADIDAS SINGAPORE AIRLINES NOKIA ADECCO AMER Sports HENKEL REN WOLTERS KLUWER BHARTI AIRTEL SASOL REE PSA PEUGEOT CITROEN G4S TOTAL AMCOR ACCOR CANON BHP BILLITON NOVARTIS
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Abbott (No. 359)
A lively narrative –yet a bit self-indulgent. Why pushing the financial review so late?
Kellogg (No. 383)
The HTML version is supposed to be recommended? Really? If the Letter to Shareowners is no waffle, the business overview shows brands without much food, and financials are as indigestible online as in print.
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Annual Report on Annual Reports 2013
Annual report ROCKWOOL ROFIN ROGERS Communications ROLLS-ROYCE ROSNEFT ROYAL DUTCH SHELL RTL RUSHYDRO RWE RYANAIR SAAB SABIC SABMILLER SAGE SAIC Motor SAINT-GOBAIN SALZGITTER SAMSUNG Electronics SANDVIK SANOFI SAP SAPPI SAPPORO SAS SASOL SCA SCHINDLER SCHNEIDER Electric SEB SECURITAS SEKISUI HOUSE SEMCON SEMPERIT SEVERN TRENT SEVERSTAL SHANGRI-LA Asia SHANKS SHARP SHIMIZU SHIRE SHISEIDO SIEMENS SIME DARBY SINGAPORE AIRLINES SINGTEL SINOPEC SKANSKA SKF SMITH & NEPHEW SMITHS Country
Denmark Germany-U.S. Canada UK Russia Netherlands-UK Luxembourg Russia Germany Ireland Sweden Saudi Arabia UK UK China France Germany South Korea Sweden France Germany South Africa Japan Sweden South Africa Sweden Switzerland France France Sweden Japan Sweden Austria UK Russia Bermuda-Hong Kong UK Japan Japan Ireland Japan Germany Malaysia Singapore Singapore China Sweden Sweden UK UK
Rank N/R N/R 308 147 364 132 148 251 192 N/R 77 N/R 100 285 N/R 134 279 N/R 63 295 197 62 N/R 9 1 10 276 163 112 66 N/R 206 101 216 255 N/R 107 363 N/R 263 166 83 344 N/R 395 N/R 27 49 260 60
Rating C C+ BB+ BB+ B+ B B C B+ C B+ B D B+ B C+ B+ B B B+ BA A+ A B B+ B+ B+ D B B+ B B C B+ BC+ B B+ B+ BBBC AB+ B B+
Compare
LINDAB JENOPTIK TELUS GENERAL ELECTRIC EXXONMOBIL BP NEWS Corporation HYDRO-QUEBEC E.ON LUFTHANSA BAE Systems PETRONAS ANHEUSER-BUSCH INBEV SAP TOYOTA AGC (Asahi Glass) THYSSENKRUPP PANASONIC ATLAS COPCO NOVARTIS ORACLE STORA ENSO ASAHI LUFTHANSA RELIANCE Industries KIMBERLY-CLARK KONE ABB PHILIPS G4S DAIWA HOUSE AF BD (Becton Dickinson) UNITED UTILITIES EVRAZ HSH (Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels) WASTE MANAGEMENT PANASONIC DAIWA HOUSE UCB KAO ABB IOI CATHAY PACIFIC VODAFONE PETROCHINA VINCI MINEBEA ZIMMER EMERSON
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Time Warner (N/R)
The cover story doesn't last long. CEO message is not in Warner's style, and financials are a silent movie.
Wolford (N/R)
No stocking stuffer. Or how to show leggy creatures (except on a dull cover) and have no legs (no real meat in the management report).
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Annual report SNC-LAVALIN SODEXO SOLVAY SONAE SONY SPECTRUM BRANDS SPEEDY HIRE SPH (Singapore Press) SSE (Scottish and Southern Energy) STARBUCKS STATOIL STEELCASE STMicroelectronics STORA ENSO STRABAG STRAUMANN SUMITOMO SUMITOMO Chemical SUN PHARMA SUNCOR Energy SUZLON Energy SUZUKI SWATCH SWEDISH MATCH SWIRE PACIFIC SWISSCOM SYNGENTA TAKEDA Pharmaceutical TALISMAN Energy TATA Motors TATA Steel TATE & LYLE TCS (Tata Consultancy Services) TDC TE Connectivity TECHNIP TEIJIN TELE2 TELECOM ITALIA TELEFONICA TELEKOM AUSTRIA TELENOR TELIASONERA TELKOM INDONESIA TELSTRA TELUS TEMBEC TENNECO TERUMO TESCO Country
Canada France Belgium Portugal Japan U.S. UK Singapore UK U.S. Norway U.S. Switzerland Finland Austria Switzerland Japan Japan India Canada India Japan Switzerland Sweden Hong Kong Switzerland Switzerland Japan Canada India India UK India Denmark Switzerland-U.S. France Japan Sweden Italy Spain Austria Norway Sweden Indonesia Australia Canada Canada U.S. Japan UK
Rank 392 183 195 354 214 N/R 241 372 314 N/R 1 N/R N/R 36 90 67 68 177 N/R 380 N/R N/R N/R 64 259 343 136 238 382 342 318 160 N/R 80 N/R 55 113 220 N/R N/R 133 N/R 348 198 N/R 8 N/R N/R N/R 85
Rating BB B BB C B BBCA+ CCAB+ B+ B+ B+ C+ BC+ CC+ B+ B BB+ B BBBB+ C B+ C+ B+ B+ B C+ C B+ C BB C+ A C+ C C B+
Compare
ARCADIS COMPASS UCB JERONIMO MARTINS PANASONIC ENERGIZER CRAMO NEXT Media CENTRICA TIM HORTONS TOTAL NOBIA TEXAS INSTRUMENTS UPM HOCHTIEF NOBEL BIOCARE MITSUBISHI MITSUBISHI Chemical LUPIN CANADIAN NATURAL VESTAS Wind Systems HONDA CITIZEN IMPERIAL TOBACCO HUTCHISON WHAMPOA TELECOM ITALIA MONSANTO ASTELLAS Pharma APACHE SUZUKI ARCELORMITTAL ASSOCIATED BRITISH FOODS INFOSYS TELIASONERA MOLEX FLUOR TORAY TELIASONERA TELEFONICA BT DEUTSCHE TELEKOM TELIASONERA TELENOR TM (Telekom Malaysia) SINGTEL BCE DOMTAR AUTOLIV BD (Becton Dickinson) MORRISONS
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TEVA Pharmaceuticals TEXAS INSTRUMENTS THOMAS COOK THOMSON REUTERS THYSSENKRUPP TIETO TIM HORTONS TIME WARNER TM (Telekom Malaysia) TNB (Tenaga Nasional) TNT Express TORAY TOSHIBA TOTAL TOYOTA TRANSALTA TRELLEBORG TRIVENI TRW TUI TURKCELL TYCO UCB UMICORE UNIBAIL-RODAMCO UNILEVER UNITED TECHNOLOGIES UNITED UTILITIES UPM UPS USG PEOPLE VALE VALEO VALERO Energy VALLOUREC VATTENFALL VECTURA VEOLIA Environnement VESTAS Wind Systems VINCI VODAFONE VOESTALPINE VOLKSWAGEN VOLVO VOSSLOH WALMART WALT DISNEY WÄRTSILÄ WASTE MANAGEMENT WENDY'S WESFARMERS
Israel U.S. UK U.S.-Canada Germany Finland Canada U.S. Malaysia Malaysia Netherlands Japan Japan France Japan Canada Sweden India U.S. Germany Turkey Switzerland-U.S. Belgium Belgium France Netherlands-UK U.S. UK Finland U.S. Netherlands Brazil France U.S. France Sweden UK France Denmark France UK Austria Germany Sweden Germany U.S. U.S. Finland U.S. U.S. Australia
N/R N/R 153 124 69 303 332 N/R 272 299 N/R 56 171 252 164 234 17 N/R N/R 188 338 N/R 203 104 175 157 293 352 92 N/R N/R N/R 254 N/R 165 94 N/R 226 N/R 244 79 239 116 7 211 N/R N/R 11 N/R N/R 399
D C B+ B+ B+ BBC+ B BC+ B+ B+ B B+ B A C+ CB BCB B+ B+ B+ B BB+ C+ BC B C B+ B+ C B C+ B B+ B B+ A B BC A CCB-
DR. REDDY'S Laboratories STMicroelectronics TUI McGRAW-HILL ARCELORMITTAL INVENSYS STARBUCKS NEWS Corporation TELKOM INDONESIA CLP DEUTSCHE POST DHL TEIJIN FUJITSU BP HONDA HYDRO-QUEBEC BRIDGESTONE JKH (John Keells) AUTOLIV THOMAS COOK TELIASONERA EMERSON SOLVAY JOHNSON MATTHEY LAND SECURITIES PROCTER & GAMBLE GENERAL ELECTRIC SEVERN TRENT STORA ENSO FEDEX RANDSTAD RIO TINTO DENSO MARATHON OIL TATA Steel FORTUM SHIRE GDF SUEZ SUZLON Energy BOUYGUES CHINA MOBILE THYSSENKRUPP TOYOTA DAIMLER SIEMENS CARREFOUR NEWS Corporation MAN VEOLIA Environnement McDONALD's WOOLWORTHS
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WESSANEN WEYERHAEUSER WHIRLPOOL WHITBREAD WIENERBERGER WIPRO WOLFORD WOLSELEY WOLTERS KLUWER WOOLWORTHS WPP XEROX XTEP YAMAHA YARA YTL YUM! Brands ZEISS (Carl Zeiss Meditec) ZIMMER
Netherlands U.S. U.S. UK Austria India Austria UK-Switzerland Netherlands Australia Jersey U.S. Hong Kong Japan Norway Malaysia U.S. Germany U.S.
106 381 365 377 14 307 N/R 43 21 313 58 267 360 335 145 N/R 389 199 N/R
B+ BBBA BC B+ A BB+ B BBB+ C+ BB C
BONDUELLE INTERNATIONAL PAPER ELECTROLUX ACCOR BORAL INFOSYS HANESBRANDS KINGFISHER REED ELSEVIER WESFARMERS PUBLICIS CANON ADIDAS SONY POTASHCORP TNB (Tenaga Nasional) McDONALD's JENOPTIK SMITH & NEPHEW
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Best practice for 15 report attributes
What are the most important attributes in an annual report –on paper or online? There are many, but we have chosen 15. For each of them, about 25 annuals that deliver better or best practice examples have been selected. Names are not ranked but listed in alphabetical order.
Cover - Homepage Message - Branding
Business overview
Key figures
CEO/Chairman message
Business model Strategy - Growth drivers
Key performance indicators
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Annual Report on Annual Reports 2013 Financial review Management discussion and analysis
Investor proposition - Share information
Goals - Targets Outlook
Risk factors, control and management
Leadership, governance and compensation
Corporate responsibility Sustainability
Historical data, charts, ratios
Online reporting
Style - Design – Layout
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Cover - Homepage - Message – Branding
Accor Adaro Energy Adidas ANA (All Nippon Airways) AstraZeneca Audi Belgacom Colgate-Palmolive Compass ConAgra Foods General Electric Halma Lupin Manpower Nippon Steel Novartis Pernod Ricard Puma RTL Sappi Semperit Technip Telekom Austria Time Warner United Technologies
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Cover - Homepage - Message – Branding
Lupin
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Business overview
Alfa Laval Arcadis Arkema Atlas Copco Cramo Danone Electrolux Hexagon Hitachi Metals Husqvarna JX Lemminkäinen Lindab Michelin Mitsubishi Pacific Basin Rexam SABMiller SCA Shanks Skanska Smiths Sumitomo Chemical Technip UPM WPP
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Business overview
Cramo
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Key figures
ACS Adaro Energy Astellas Pharma Atlas Copco Chugai Pharmaceutical Cosmo Oil Danone EDP (Energias de Portugal) Eni Fujitsu Hutchison Whampoa Indra IOI Itochu JKH (John Keells) JX Lanxess Mol Neste Oil Nutreco Omron Rosneft Strabag TDC Telkom Indonesia
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Key figures
Cosmo Oil
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CEO/Chairman message
Alcoa Assa Abloy Centrica Chugai Pharmaceutical ConocoPhillips Cosmo Oil Daiwa House Danone Duke Energy Fujitsu General Electric Hitachi Metals Komatsu M&S (Marks & Spencer) Manpower Mitsui Novozymes Pearson PotashCorp Shiseido Telus UPS Vodafone Wienerberger WPP Xerox
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CEO/Chairman message
Danone
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Business model - Strategy - Growth drivers
Ahold Arla Aurubis Axfood Balfour Beatty BG Boliden British American Tobacco Concordia Maritime Cramo Electrolux Fujitsu Indra Johnson Matthey Lindab Metso Morrisons Pacific Basin PotashCorp Randstad Rexam Saint-Gobain Sasol Strabag Teijin Wolseley Yara
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Business model - Strategy - Growth drivers
Boliden
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Key performance indicators
Adidas AstraZeneca Bombardier British American Tobacco British Land Halma IOI IRC Johnson Matthey Loblaw M&S (Marks & Spencer) Morrisons National Grid PotashCorp Randstad Rexam Rio Tinto Rolls-Royce Saab Sasol Securitas Tesco TransAlta Vodafone Wolseley
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Key performance indicators
National Grid
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Financial review - Management discussion and analysis
Adidas Bombardier Cameco Canadian Natural Cenovus Energy CLP Daimler Heidelberg Hindalco Industries Husky Energy Infineon Technologies Innergex Itochu Lanxess Lufthansa Philips Rogers Communications Sappi Siemens SNC-Lavalin Suncor Energy Tata Motors Telus Thomson Reuters TransAlta Weyerhaeuser
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Financial review - Management discussion and analysis
Cenovus Energy
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Goals - Targets – Outlook
Adidas Alfa Laval Arkema Aurubis BG Bilfinger Deutsche Post DHL EDP (Energias de Portugal) Hexagon Infineon Technologies Leoni Lufthansa Merck KGaA Metso MVV Energie Novozymes Panasonic PotashCorp RWE Sapporo SAS Teijin Telus Toray TUI Vossloh Zeiss (Carl Zeiss Meditec)
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Goals - Targets – Outlook
Teijin
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Risk factors, control and management
Adidas Alfa Laval Anglo American Arla AstraZeneca CLP IHG (InterContinental Hotels) Johnson Matthey M&S (Marks & Spencer) National Grid Philips Rexam RWE Sandvik Sasol SCA Smiths Statoil Sumitomo TDC Technip Telkom Indonesia Telus Tesco Trelleborg Wärtsilä Wolseley
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Risk factors, control and management
Alfa Laval
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Leadership, governance and compensation
Anglo American Associated British Foods AstraZeneca Balfour Beatty BP BT Centrica Diageo EGCO Ericsson GSK (GlaxoSmithKline) Halma IHG (InterContinental Hotels) J Sainsbury M&S (Marks & Spencer) Morrisons PTT Reed Elsevier SABMiller Shanks Sime Darby Tesco Unilever Vodafone Whitbread Wolseley WPP
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Leadership, governance and compensation
M&S (Marks & Spencer)
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Corporate responsibility – Sustainability
Accor Air Liquide AkzoNobel Casino Danone Fortum Holmen Iberdrola Inditex Kesko Kyocera Michelin Novo Nordisk Omron Puma REN Ricoh Saint-Gobain Sodexo Stora Enso Technip Teijin Toray Umicore Vattenfall Wärtsilä Wipro
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Corporate responsibility – Sustainability
Umicore
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Historical data, charts, ratios
Adidas Daiwa House Docomo (NTT Docomo) EDP (Energias de Portugal) Electrolux Gorenje Hindalco Industries Husqvarna Indutrade IOI JX Lukoil MVV Energie Neste Oil ONGC Philips PTT Puma Sappi SAS Sasol Skanska TDC Telekom Austria TransAlta Volvo Wärtsilä
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Historical data, charts, ratios
Skanska
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Online reporting
AkzoNobel Audi BASF Ericsson Home Depot Indra Johnson Matthey Konica Minolta Land Securities Nutreco Outokumpu Philips PotashCorp Rexam Royal Dutch Shell Shire Smiths Statoil Straumann TDC Tesco Thomson Reuters Veolia Environnement Wärtsilä Wolseley Wolters Kluwer
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Online reporting
Thomson Reuters Note: Online annual reports are considered here, not corporate or IR websites.
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Style - Design - Layout
Ahold Air France-KLM Associated British Foods CIC Clariant Danone Electrolux Innergex Jeronimo Martins Johnson Matthey Land Securities Lemminkäinen Michelin Noble Pernod Ricard Qantas REE Sanofi Seb Stora Enso Technip Toray Unibail-Rodamco Whirlpool Wienerberger Wolters Kluwer
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Style - Design – Layout
REE
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Industry report benchmarking
Steel and metals
Note: Operations include sustainability. Investors include governance.
Beer
Note: Operations include sustainability. Investors include governance.
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Paper
Note: Operations include sustainability. Investors include governance.
Procter & Gamble vs. Unliver
Note: Operations include sustainability. Investors include governance.
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Tobacco
Note: Operations include sustainability. Investors include governance.
Staffing services
Note: Operations include sustainability. Investors include governance.
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Fast food
Note: Operations include sustainability. Investors include governance.
Publishing and information services
Note: Operations include sustainability. Investors include governance.
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Aerospace
Note: Operations include sustainability. Investors include governance.
Sports equipment and apparel
Note: Operations include sustainability. Investors include governance.
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How the survey is conducted
What is the purpose of the Annual Report on Annual Reports?
The Annual Report on Annual Reports was created in 1996 at the Enterprise Group, a small Brusselsbased international management consultancy which had set up a reporting unit (spun off into e.com in 1999) to advise companies (mainly yet not only in the financial sector) on their annual reporting process and content. Now in its 17th year, the main purpose has not changed: surveying and benchmarking best reporting practice in order to strive for higher standards in financial reporting, investor relations, stakeholder information, and corporate communication. With higher report value for shareholders, richer report content, better access to company information for all stakeholders, increased investor confidence, and decreased cost of capital as subsequent results.
What is ReportWatch?
ReportWatch is the denominator, trademark and website for the report monitoring, scanning, scoring and rating process that results in the Annual Report on Annual Reports, which is posted online yearly in August. Based both on e.com’s internal desk research and an external panel of reporting specialists, this survey of annual reports’ best practice is often regarded as the most comprehensive, international and authoritative survey on annual reports (see http://www.reportwatch.net/uploads/files/what-readersand-users-think.pdf for readers’ comments and http://www.reportwatch.net/best-annualreports/media/ for corporate and other financial and business media coverage).
How are companies selected?
The ReportWatch monitoring process starts with the selection of a sample -from 250 to 500 when the survey was launched to about 1,500-2,000 for last years’ surveys- of listed companies. Our sources for selection include published international and local rankings as well as internal desk research based on company position in their industry, peer groups, and past report records. Many of the large(st) companies are therefore part of the primary selection yet a significant number disappears later due to insufficient report quality. These last years, we have also recorded an increasing number of spontaneous applications from company report makers who want to benchmark their report against best practice. Though imperfectly -owing to various factors such as lower reporting standards, emerging reporting practices, less developed IR policies, or the lack of report applications- our list of companies and their reports is a relatively representative cross section which reflects the industrial, geographical and stock market diversity upstream, and best reporting practice downstream. The fact that a majority of reports rated and ranked come from Western and Japanese origins is thus not entirely our responsibility. Still, following the shift in the global economy, the number of reports from other areas has increased, though not as fast as expected. Our main goal is to be selective and representative rather than comprehensive. Although striving for a sample as representative and large as possible, we easily admit to cover a small portion of the worldwide quantity of listed companies, now estimated at more than 40,000. A survey of all of them would probably be a mission impossible to accomplish. A ranking is competitive in nature. ReportWatch has toughened up the competitive dimension by going for a direct comparative approach. Every report scanned is immediately compared with a peer. As a result, some industries, companies and reports are left out, while some reports are left in just because they are compared to higher ranked peers.
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Of course that penalizes hundreds of (un)known companies whose annuals might certainly deserve a good rating.
Note. The name of the company that appears in the Annual Report on Annual Reports is the one as referred to on the covers or as written or abbreviated in key report sections (profile, message). For legibility reasons, legal forms or words such as corporation, company, group, holding, etc. are not reproduced. Except for clarity and communication, names do not take into account mergers, acquisitions or brand identity changes that might have occurred and been approved after the fiscal year-end or the report release.
Why focusing on listed companies…
Was the annual report invented first for listed corporations to report to their shareholders? The answer is not certain, yet is most probably positive. There are hundreds of thousands or millions of institutions in the world releasing yearly reports, and some of these can be very exciting (some even much more than dull or puff pieces from the private sector). The fact is that "in 1959, IBM hired Paul Rand, a prominent book designer, to create its annual report. As a result, the high-concept annual report was born." (Addison Annual Report Handbook 2005). As for any survey, a scope has to be defined. Since its inception the Annual Report on Annual Reports has therefore focused on reports from listed firms. (°) These can be compared more easily, and this is even more the case due to the effects of globalization, permanent access to information channels (and internet), and the application of international accounting and reporting standards. Though the selection and the evaluation criteria remain primarily based on stock-listed companies we leave the doors open to any company who wants to submit its annuals for rating. That explains why the readers find an increasing number of less known (yet) companies, including privately or government-owned companies (small or larger) in our ranking –some of them producing annuals that rival with, and sometimes outstrip listed firms’ documents.
(°) Note. As a consultancy, e.com regularly advises privately owned and publicly (or government) controlled institutions.
… and not including the following?
Reports for a fiscal year ending any time in the year 2012 (January 2013 at the latest) were considered. Were not considered for selection in the Annual Report on Annual Reports: - Reports for a fiscal year before or after 2012 or interim/quarterly reports. - Financial sector companies (banks, insurance, investment funds, financial holdings) (see below); - Privately owned companies (except those electing to compete); - Purely government-owned companies (except those electing to compete or those compared with); - Wholly-owned subsidiaries (except those electing to compete); - Investment, income, mutual or real estate funds and trusts; - Listed stock exchanges; - Central banks; - Development or reconstruction banks and similar financial institutions; - Public agencies; - Non-profit organizations from any sector. A line has to be drawn somewhere. The above are not included in our survey due to the inapplicability of a significant part of report evaluation criteria based on listed companies, as well as to various comparability and consistency reasons (apples and oranges).
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Why are reports from the financial sector no longer rated?
For consistency, comparability and credibility reasons, it was decided in 2009 not to select financial sector institutions for the Annual Report on Annual Reports, i.e. annuals for annus horribilis 2008 (a sinking feeling: the page for risk reporting examples was already “intentionally left blank” for 2007 reports in the previous year survey). The large number of repeated incidents, crises and malpractices in the banking and insurance industries these last years question the input and output of reporting –and would make difficult -and risky!- its subsequent evaluation. That does not imply that there are not (very) good and even improved reports in the sector, such as some who ranked (some of them high) in past competitions. Outside ReportWatch, with its solid track record in the assessment and benchmarking of reports in the financial sector, e.com keeps on providing evaluation services to some financial institutions that keep on striving for higher reporting standards and best practice –and there are still some.
What is judged –the company or the report?
The scoring, rating and ranking are based on an evaluation of the company report and output and cannot be interpreted as such as an assessment -and even less a rating!- of the company that releases the report. Put plainly, ReportWatch scans the how and, to some extent, the what is reported and not as such the who and the why. As our cautionary statement goes, the Annual Report on Annual Reports does not represent directly (what about indirectly?) an offer to buy, sell, hold or trade the securities to which the reports cited or ranked in this survey are related. That said, investors, especially long-term ones and other stakeholders, might infer some opinions and decisions based on report content for last year and consistency in reporting over a period of time. (°) "The key point (in a report) is to get as much of the information that management uses when making its decisions out there, so investors can understand it," explains Ken Lever, formerly in charge of Tomkins annual report. After all, shouldn’t a company who treats its current shareholders, potential investors and other stakeholder audiences well, not least through good reporting practice, deserve more market confidence than others? Even though a relationship may sometimes be found between company, report and (shareholder) value, talking of a correlation would be excessive. Reflect on the following: - Before the late-2000s financial crisis, some of the financial sector institutions that later showcased malpractice stood out among report good or best practice. - Good performance does not necessarily translate into good reports. In the middle of the worst financial crisis in decades (see: Annual Report on Annual Reports 2009), almost 60 percent of annual reports rated A were made by companies making (much) decreased profits or losses. - Likewise, company size or reputation does not mean good reports per se. All over the years some among world-famous companies have never been capable of publishing high-quality annuals (take Apple and Microsoft among many examples). While others, especially in North America, have moved from good quality annuals to pure compliance exercises resulting in illegible or very poor reports (the list of bad examples would be too long).
(°) For tracking historical annual report performance, use our ranking index available at http://www.reportwatch.net/best-annual-reports/a-z-ranking-index/.
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Is report entry free?
Bar the above-mentioned restrictions, any company may submit is annuals at any time. Participation in the survey is entirely free of charge, except of course for mailing, downloading, copying or printing costs incurred. Naturally, a report submission does not automatically guarantee rating and ranking. The use of e.com report evaluation services is no prerequisite to -and no guarantee for- being selected, rated and ranked and is independent of the ReportWatch process and the results as published in the Annual Report on Annual Reports. We view that as a guarantee of neutrality.
Which documents are assessed?
Documents named, linked to and referred to as “Annual Reports” are assessed, as well as summary versions (reviews, overviews…). Corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability reports are assessed, either in printed, PDF or online format, not as a whole but as a component of annual reporting. Proxy forms or separate governance documents are considered when provided. Reports simply made up of a legal file (e.g. 10-K, 20-F or other similar GAAP and proxy forms) are only considered as eligible -even if they fail to match a significant number of our evaluation criteria- when they are compared to more elaborate reports. That explains why a number of well-known blue chips who stick to purely legal reporting forms do not qualify for being rated and do not appear in the ranking.
Printed or online reports?
The sharply increasing use of the Web as a corporate communication and investor relations channel is reckoned with. Most of the ReportWatch process is now based on HTML reports or PDF versions downloaded from corporate websites. However, connecting the dots from an online report can be a difficult exercise. Printed copies, PDFs, printouts or effective (!) e-books are still preferred when it comes to in-depth report screening. When an online report is judged as optimized for reading, the scoring and rating is based on it. In other situations, and these still constitute a very large majority, PDF, e-book or printed versions are scanned. The ReportWatch criteria are based on report content and apply whether published on paper or on screen. The investor, analyst, stakeholder and any reader should find the information required by regulatory bodies as well as what the company makes available beyond compliance whatever the mode of communication. Except for communication and a few specific aspects, all evaluation criteria (see below) apply in both printed (or PDF) and web (or HTML) contexts. Does that imply that an online report should simply be a copy-and-paste of a printed one (the so-called “interactive” 10-K being the most laughable example) or, in the future, vice versa? Certainly not. Corporate and investor websites can be used to (re)format, (re)structure, (re)build annual and other reports, and, in best practice, to add value by providing extra features and contents for stakeholders. These aspects are taken into account in our scoring and rating job.
Which evaluation criteria are used to score the reports?
Report scanning and scoring is the first stage of the ReportWatch assessment process. It is carried out by e.com report analysts (financial analysts, investor relations specialists, corporate communication advisers, accountants, economists, copywriters, at senior or junior levels) and provides a basis for final ratings by the rating panel. Finally, it results in the report ranking published in the Annual Report on Annual Reports.
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Globalization of markets, round-the-clock cross-border investment flows, internationalization of reporting standards and their implementation, and the increased complexity of reporting requirements have resulted in an overall improvement of reporting practices around the world and a larger degree of homogenization of annual reports over the last decade. Those trends have made the ReportWatch evaluation and scoring job more difficult. In the first five years of the Annual Report on Annual Reports two-thirds of top 100 reports were rated B or lower on key reporting areas. These last years, 60 percent of top 300 reports have been rated B+ or higher. Despite a gap between lowest marked reports and top ones almost as big as a decade ago, this year there is a 25mark difference between top 10 annuals and the ones ranked around 200-250. That is much, or a little, depending on the viewpoint. Report evaluation criteria have to cope with trends and challenges. As a result, they have evolved and are updated and upgraded regularly. Modifications in evaluation criteria may sometimes impact on report score, rating and ranking. Though e.com-ReportWatch emphasis has always been placed on financial and performance reporting and investor indicators, report assessment criteria have consistently been based on a well-balanced perspective blending financial and business analysis; short- and long-term performance aspects; strategy and operations; visual and textual elements; share- and broader stakeholders issues; information content and communication style –whether in print or online. In 2013, we have gone for a major overhaul, by making the scanning process more condensed (25 attributes and reporting areas) and to the point. The report evaluation criteria comprise: Online navigation – Introduction – Profile/Overview – Key figures – Message – Identity and branding – Key performance indicators – Strategy – Outlook and targets – Business report – Financial review and discussion – Risks – Investor information – Share items – Sustainability – Social and environmental impact – Leadership – Governance – Compensation – Statements and notes – Charts – Style and design. The scoring process is the first stage of the ReportWatch assessment. It is carried out by e.com report analysts (financial analysts, investor relations specialists, corporate communication advisers, accountants, economists, copywriters, at senior or junior levels) and it provides a basis for final ratings by the rating panel and results in the report ranking published in the Annual Report on Annual Reports.
Are the report marks made public?
Only the ratings are made public. In line with our tradition since the launch of this survey, the total score or its breakdown is never publicly disclosed. It may be obtained by companies or via their advisers/agencies through an order for a Report Scan (an edited output of e.com’s internal desk research for the Annual Report on Annual Reports). (°) The revenues generated through scans and other evaluation services help us produce the Annual Report on Annual Reports –and keep it independent.
(°) Scans are among the numerous evaluation services that enable e.com to publish a self-financed survey based on independent research. Go to http://www.reportwatch.net/e-com/making-reports-pay-off/ for more information.
How are reports rated? What is role of the rating panel?
Based on the marks resulting from e.com’s scanning job, an internal rating is given to reports. The primary role of the independent rating panel is then to cross-check top reports scored by e.com and to help move from a very quantitative and “dry” scoring to a more qualitative rating, based both on intrinsic report value and communication towards various investor and stakeholder audiences. As a result, some reports are upgraded while others are marked down, from slightly to significantly.
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Up to one third of top 100 reports moves up or down in the ranking after the rating panel’s intervention. Because of rising reporting standards -from 2002 to 2013, the number of reports rated B+ and above has increased by more than 50%-, better practices and increased homogeneity in requirements, and like for the scoring job (see above), the rating task is more difficult than in the past. Panel members are appointed for their experience and expert knowledge in corporate reporting, financial communication, investor and public relations, and any matter related to report publication and content (see separate section for panelists’ profiles). ReportWatch works with all-round and specialist panelists. The ReportWatch rating panel has always been characterized by its diversity (see http://www.reportwatch.net/best-annual-reports/report-rating/). Panel members have to judge independently of their own interests. Individual votes are not publicly disclosed. The final ratings and ranking as published in the Annual Report on Annual Reports are the sole responsibility of e.com - ReportWatch. Ratings and rating agencies have drawn a lot of criticism these last years, mainly due to the use and misuse of measurements, questionable accuracy, misjudgments, etc. It is worth reminding that, even when based on objective assessment criteria -what we are trying to achieve with our methodologyratings are also often made up of more subjective judgments and perceptions, and cannot completely exclude bias. Our report ratings should therefore be seen as indicative and not be considered as an opinion about the companies/stocks/investments’ past and future performance.
Report scan?
How is your report doing?
What is your report rating? How does it score –in total and on all evaluation criteria used for the Annual Report on Annual Reports? Order a REPORT SCAN. An edited output (°) of desk research done by e.com report analysts, it provides your company (or advisers) with the score breakdown for 25 report items and a summary of pluses and minuses for each of them. The price? € 990 or US$ 1,300 or £ 850.
(°) For copywriting and editing reasons allow a few weeks for Scan delivery.
E-mail your order to: e.com@reportwatch.net
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Report rating panel -and picks
The report rating panel
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Reg Pauffley
Reg Pauffley is widely regarded as one of the most experienced figures in global corporate communications. Reg's credentials stem largely from his experience as the founder of what is now Further, a major UK corporate design consultancy. Under Reg's direction (1984 to 2001), Pauffley became a reference in both corporate brand development and global reporting and communications. Clients included a number of global blue chips and FT European top 300 companies. After having been in charge of business development at Merchant and having acted as chairman at Likemind, he now spends a great deal of his time mentoring small to medium size creative firms with their business development. Reg is the longest-serving external member on ReportWatch’s rating panel. E-mail: reg.p@creativeconsortia.com
Kaevan Gazdar
Kaevan Gazdar is responsible for corporate reporting at HypoVereinsbank, one of Germany´s largest banks, now part of the Italian-based Unicredit Group. The bank was awarded many times in German report rating competitions. Kaevan is co-author of the annual report book “Geschäftsbericht ohne Fehl und Tadel” and also published books on corporate citizenship and corporate communication (including “Unternehmerische Wohltaten: Last oder Lust?”). He is a member of the jury of the Good Company ranking, the author of “Reporting Nonfinancials”, and has held seminars and talks at various venues, including FT Knowledge, MCE and Ethical Corporation. E-mail: kaevan.gazdar@unicreditgroup.de
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Vero Escarmelle
A marketing and communications manager at RICS Europe
(pan-European office of the UK-based property professionals’ body), Vero previously worked in marcom positions at Research International (a WPP company), for a U.S. firm and at The Enterprise Group (e.g.in marketing and communication activities in Southeast Asian markets). She was the co-founder and marketing manager of the reporting unit (spun off into e.com in 1999) and of the Annual Report on Annual Reports. She worked on the annual report coordination (of communication, design and content areas) for a few financial institutions and has stayed an adviser and panel member to the ReportWatch team ever since. E-mail: vero.e@reportwatch.net
Jakob Ivarsson
Jakob is a highly respected communication consultant with a rich experience acquired through the production of several annual reports for some of the largest Swedish companies. He contributes with strategy, structure and contents in order to clarify the company’s message and the report as a vehicle towards stakeholders. Jakob runs the Stakeholder Communication company in Gothenburg. Prior to his present occupation he held a position as senior advisor and partner at Solberg, one of Sweden's leading corporate communication consultancies on financial reporting. He is also a deputy board member of the Swedish IR Association. E-mail: jakob.ivarsson@stakeholder.se
Robert Berick
Now the Managing Director of Falls Communications, for more than 20 years, Rob Berick has provided senior counsel to management teams and their boards of directors on various capital market, communications, and governance matters. Throughout his career, Rob has worked with public and private companies across a wide range of market sectors – including energy, consumer products and industrial manufacturing – to enhance valuation and engage investors. Similarly, he has specialized expertise in managing the flow of information during such special situations as leadership transitions, M&A activity, initial public offerings, as well as shareholder activism campaigns and proxy fights. E-mail: rberick@fallscommunications.com
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Pravin Ujjain
Pravin K Ujjain keeps a close watch on global best practices in corporate reporting and boasts of his personal collection of over 750 great Annual Reports from across the globe. An avid annual report enthusiast, he is the CEO of AR Insight, an annual report consulting firm in India that has shaped more than 100 annual reports for 50 companies. AR Insight is aggressively promoting the cause of enhanced reporting standards amongst Indian companies through a dedicated online journal ‘ReportInsights.com’ and an Annual Symposia ‘AR Conclave’ that was organized in three leading Indian cities (Mumbai, New Delhi and Bengaluru) in 2012. E-mail: ujjain_p@feedbackglobal.com
Dennis Larsen
Dennis is a management consultant specialising in reputation and CSR. His clients include large multinationals and small and medium sized companies. With degrees in Economics and Corporate Communications (with honours), Dennis continues to teach at BI Norwegian Business School and Rotterdam School of Management executive MBA programmes. When not immersed in corporate communications and reputation management work, he can be found on remote Norwegian mountains in winter and running around London parks in marathon training the rest of the year. E-mail: kaevan.gazdar@unicreditgroup.de
Mike Guillaume
Mike is the co-founder and managing director of e.comReportWatch, a London-based firm that specializes in report assessment and benchmarking. Recognized as a leading international expert on corporate and financial reporting, he has reviewed thousands of reports and consulted for 100-plus international companies, and is the co-founder and editor of the Annual Report on Annual Reports. Prior to that, as an executive director of The Enterprise Group, his track record includes an extensive entrepreneurial and global management consulting experience in Europe, North America and Southeast Asia. An economist, financial analyst and investor relations specialist, Mike is also the author of “The Seven Deadly Sins of Capitalism” (new edition 2013). E-mail: mike.g@reportwatch.net
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Some panel’s picks
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Adaro Energy (No. 88)
Report makers are trying very hard -and achieving- to tell the story in an engaging manner and in a great amount of detail, not least on the investor proposition.
Novo Nordisk (No. 46)
A highly informative and insightful report. It pulls you into the story and really provides an understanding of what the company does, its purpose and potential. It’s also very well written and designed.
Concordia Maritime (No. 61)
This book made me want to learn more about the company. I can think of no higher praise.
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OMV (No. 246)
Nicely done report, surprisingly readable despite being so copy heavy. Does a nice job of realistically outlining where the company has been and where it is heading.
Stora Enso (No. 36)
The magazine is not wasted paper and is very engaging to the reader. The responsibility report is substantial.
Xerox (No. 267)
There is more to Xerox than what comes to mind message established quite emphatically. A succinct and purposeful message that sells CEO's vision of the company convincingly.
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Trelleborg (No. 17)
Among the most extensive risk sections, very welcome for a complex business. Comments and graphs conveniently placed. A poster is used to depict the world of Trelleborg.
SAS (No. 9)
Lots of excellent charts. Key messages are conveyed and rightly highlighted in a difficult context.
PotashCorp (No. 6)
A very well-structured piece sustaining its value reporting theme throughout, appealing yet in a no frills layout. Good example of coherent integrated reporting. Highly relevant charts too, that can be downloaded separately.
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Johnson Matthey (No. 35)
Global Drivers Impacting the Chemical Industry are mapped, KPIs are well defined, Risks and Uncertainties are made clear, the operating review is paced with case studies, both in PDF and a user-friendly HTML format.
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How is your report doing? Two scanning options
The Report Scan
What is your report rating? How does it score –in total and on all evaluation criteria used for the Annual Report on Annual Reports? Order a REPORT SCAN. An edited output (°) of desk research done by e.com report analysts, it provides your company (or advisers) with the score breakdown for 25 report items and a summary of pluses and minuses for each of them. The price? € 990 or US$ 1,300 or £ 850.
(°) For copywriting and editing reasons allow a few weeks for Scan delivery.
E-mail your order to: e.com@reportwatch.net
The Quick Scan
What are the major plus and minus points in your annual report? Order the QUICK SCAN. A brief rundown of strong and weak points of the PDF or HTML report. An affordable way to have a glance at report pluses and minuses (e.g. for non-listed companies, IPOs, agencies, first-time users). The Quick Scan is provided via email only. The price? € 330 or US$ 450 or £ 280. E-mail your order to: e.com@reportwatch.net
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Making reports pay off
Report evaluation and benchmarking services by e.com
e.com provides report evaluation tools and reporting assessment services to help companies report better or best, on paper and online. The bottom lines: - Mirror company value - Show investor value - Enhance report value - Increase stakeholder value For a complete list of services go to www.reportwatch.net/e-com/making-reports-pay-off/
Q: What are the major plus and minus points in the annual report?
A: A Quick Scan answers. Benefit: A brief rundown of strong and weak points of the PDF or HTML report (sent via email only).
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Q: What are the strengths and weaknesses of the latest annual report?
A: A Report Scan susm up. Benefit: A scan of how report items match the 25 evaluation criteria used for the Annual Report on Annual Reports.
Q: How does the report compare with a major competitor’s one?
A: A Report Match compares. Benefit: Compares, scores and comments on how two peers’ reports stack up on 25 report items.
Q: How does the company report on 40 report items and reporting areas?
A: A thorough Annual Report Screening answers. Benefit: Screens and marks 40 reporting areas and items (online or in print) re. online features, financials, strategy, segments, share, risk, sustainability, theme, message, visuals...
Q: How does the report compare with industry peers, best practice, or investment alternatives?
A: A Peer Group Benchmarking gauges. Benefit: Benchmarks and rates a report against a peer group on all major report areas and indicators –with an aggregate scorecard and tips.
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e.com – Reportwatch
enterprise.com
enterprise.com (e.com) specializes in report input, evaluation, analysis and benchmarking. Our goal is to help our customers improve their “reporting bottom lines”, by reflecting company value, enhancing report value, showing investor value, and finally increasing stakeholder value. e.com has developed an international, independent, integrated, content-based and competitive approach to assess and compare annual reports -in print and online- as well as other investor information instruments and corporate/market communication tools. Our founders, staff and network have operated in 30 countries and consulted for 160 companies on more than 400 reporting operations and reviews; from Amsterdam to Tokyo, Stockholm to Vancouver, Hong Kong to Illinois. Our direct customers are CFOs, IR officers, CC managers, report teams of listed blue chips. Our clientele also includes spin-offs, IPOs, consultants, analysts, communication/PR/IR and design agencies… A spin-off from The Enterprise Group (est. 1986, inc. 1990, liq. 1999), e.com is now a U.S.-U.K. venture. The company is independent and not affiliated with any bank, government, accounting, auditing or rating institution or professional organization. With head office in London, and team and network partners based near major financial centers in Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific, e.com is in the loop on reporting standards, investor and stakeholder expectations, and best practices.
ReportWatch
ReportWatch is the denominator, trademark and website for the report monitoring, scanning, scoring and rating process that results in the Annual Report on Annual Reports. Created in 1996, and now in its seventeenth edition, based both on e.com’s internal desk research and an external panel of reporting specialists, the survey of annual reports’ best practice is often regarded as the most comprehensive, international, independent and authoritative survey on annual reporting.
e.com - ReportWatch
Head Office 5 St John’s Lane London EC1M 4BH t +44 (0)207 250 47 25 f +44 (0)207 250 47 26 e e.com@reportwatch.net www.reportwatch.net
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Annual Report on Annual Reports
A publication of enterprise.com (e.com). Publisher and Editor: Mike Guillaume. Report Watch research, scanning and scoring: e.com staff, interns and network supervised by Mike Guillaume, Jérôme Pétion, Franklin Manchester, Tim Williams. Report rating panel: Robert Berick, Veronique Escarmelle, Kaevan Gazdar, Mike Guillaume, Jakob Ivarsson, Dennis Larsen, Reg Pauffley, Pravin Ujjain. Report concept: e.com. Original survey template: Dart Group (Amsterdam, The Netherlands). Web design and layout: Inventis (Limburg, Belgium). ISSN 1782-1037 Survey and research methodology created in 1996 at The Enterprise Group. Copying for other than personal or internal company reference is prohibited. Quoting is authorized with prior permission of the publisher. Companies are free to use rating and ranking references for investor, media and public relations purpose. Additional copies of this report and back copies of previous issues may be downloaded from www.reportwatch.net or ordered (free of charge) to e.com. All prices for report evaluation services advertised in this publication are subject to change, due to currency fluctuations, company policy, or modified product content. The material included in this publication does not represent an advice or offer to buy, sell or trade the securities related to companies herein referred to. © Copyright 2013 enterprise.com - ReportWatch
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Company Value > Report Value
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