15 listed companies obtained over 9 at VEKTOR evaluation from 2020, double compared to 2019

The Romanian Investor Relations Association (ARIR) has published VEKTOR indicator for listed companies on the Main Market for the second time on the Bucharest Stock Exchange website (BVB). VEKTOR is the measure of communication of listed companies with investors and is calculated based on a methodology that comprises 15 criteria, in line with international best practices in Investor Relations (IR). There were evaluated 77 companies that received marks from 0 (low communication) to 10 (excellent communication).

The companies that obtained the highest VEKTOR indicator are:

Daniela Șerban, ARIR President & Co-founder:

“ARIR has completed the second evaluation of listed companies from the perspective of communication with investors. 15 companies obtained marks over 9, double compared to the first evaluation from 2019, in the context of a review of the methodology. Improved results put in spotlight the companies that want to give investors more confidence, through proactive communication, best practices in investor relations and ultimately transparency. All three elements are important in the new market context. The impact brought by VEKTOR is visible, the indicator became a landmark for investors, companies and media. We are planning to promote the indicator to the European Commission and also expand it in an adapted form for the companies on the alternative trading system of the stock exchange.”

Most of the companies met criterion 5 (53 companies), which refers to the availability of stock price information on the issuer’s website and criterion 1 (49 companies), which refers to the availability of contact details for the Investor Relations team (name and surname of the contact person(s), phone number and e-mail address). Criterion 14 which requires the existence of the remuneration policy was met by the fewest companies (16).  

The average of VEKTOR indicator for all companies is 3.8, an increase of 0.2 points compared with 2019 results, and the average for the premium category companies is 7.3. There is also a significant increase for the companies that are included in BET index, with an average of VEKTOR of 8.6 vs 8 in 2019.

The aggregated data for all companies are also available on the dedicated section of  ARIR website.

VEKTOR indicator was calculated by ARIR for the first time in 2019. This year’s methodology was updated by an extended group of local and international specialists (financial analysts, IR professionals, consultants and academia) to include the expectations of institutional and individual investors. The methodology comprises 15 objective criteria, aligned with international best practices in Investor Relations (IR), among which:

• information about investor relations team;
• the existence of investor presentation;
• organising financial results conference calls;
• dissemination of press releases related to financial results;
• participation to investors events;
• the availability of financial results information in Excel format;
• transcript or replay of the most recent results’ conference calls;
• availability of stock price information;
• information about analyst coverage;
• information about corporate governance – company management, committees, remuneration policy;
• non-financial reporting.

The analysis and evaluation of the publicly available information, of the website and investor relations (IR) section were carried out by ARIR and the Project Committee, consisting of 10 people (corporate governance consultants, IR professionals, academia, non-financial reporting consultants) between November 21 – December 15, 2020. The evaluation process was reviewed in January by Mazars, one of the largest audit and consultancy companies in the world, present in 90 countries, with 25 years’ experience on the Romanian market.

The assessment of the communication of the listed companies with investors will be done annually in December or, anytime, at the request of a listed company.

ARIR is a non-governmental and non-profit organization that was set-up to provide current and potential issuers a platform for the development of Investor Relations (IR) professionals and contribute to the implementation of best practices in investor communication and corporate governance. It was established in November 2018 and has as members listed companies, companies with potential to become listed companies, fund managers, IR professionals as well as consultants. The founding members are BVB, ALRO, Electromagnetica, Franklin Templeton Management – Bucharest Branch, Hidroelectrica, Nuclearelectrica, Teraplast, Transelectrica, Daniela Șerban, Cosmin Răduță and Tony Romani, while Electrica, OMV Petrom, Antibiotice, Idea Bank, BRK Financial Group, Banca Transilvania, Transgaz, Biofarm and MedLife joined as Associate Members and INNOVA Project Consulting, ENVISIA, RTPR, Intercapital Invest and eVote as Affiliate Members.