Don't mention the Euro

Citation

(1999), "Don't mention the Euro", European Business Review, Vol. 99 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/ebr.1999.05499cab.003

Don't mention the Euro

Don't mention the Euro

Keywords Company accounts, Europe, Reports

Of Europe's top 100 companies, only 56 made any reference to preparations for the introduction of the Euro in their annual reports last year, according to the company report Report, 1998/99 edition, published this January by communications consultancy Prowse & Co. Put it another way, 44 of Europe's top 100 companies made no reference to the Euro only months before its launch.

The company report Report evaluates the effectiveness with which Europe's top companies use the once-a-year opportunity of the annual report to communicate their messages to shareholders, employees, suppliers, customers, analysts and other interested readers. The report looks at the first impressions created by the report, the copywriting and the visual elements.

The Boots Company produces the highest rating, creating an impression of customer focus with a score of 687 out of a possible 1,000 points. Boots is followed only one point behind by British Petroleum, with 686. Others in the top five include Reuters with 680, Rhône-Poulenc with 659 and Danone and Hoechst, each with 655.

With a rating of 238 out of a possible 1,000, AXA-UAP produced the worst report in the period. Eschewing any concessions such as a chairman's statement or charts or graphs, the insurance giant resisted any temptation to render its chosen activity interesting in any way.

While British companies dominate the top five, they are also prominent at the other end. NatWest Group manages a rating of 244, lagging behind BG plc with 322, and Glaxo Wellcome and Carrefour, both with 418.

With only one company in the top 100, Belgium finds a worthy champion in Fortis with 583. With seven companies, the Netherlands achieves the highest average of 758. Top scorer is Philips with 621, bottom is ABN-AMRO with 497. The average German company manages 564. With Hoechst top German, Siemens is bottom with 458. The average Swedish company earns 561. Ericsson is tallest Scandinavian with 645. Volvo is squattest with 490.

Lukoil puts Russia at the bottom of the national league, with a rating of 446 (still five points better than Royal Dutch/Shell's 441). Norsk Hydro, representing Norway, manages 499. The average Italian company achieves 507. TIM (mobile phones) scores 533; Telecom Italia (land lines) manages 468. The average Spanish company is two points higher up the ladder with 509. Endesa wins 524; Banco Bilbao Vizcaya and Telefónica each get 494.

Food and drinks companies produce the best reports with an average of 602. Danone is best of these with 655, Unilever the worst with 537. The average media company is only one point behind, with 601. Reuters leads the sector with 680, Reed Elsevier trails with 506. Chemicals firms make an average of 595. With Rhône-Poulenc top chemical, L'Air Liquide is bottom with 540. The average retailer gets 570, with Boots at the top and Carrefour at the bottom.

The industrial engineers produce the dullest reports, with an average of 508. Best of these is Mannesmann with 540; worst is Veba with 477. Utilities do slightly better with an average of 511. Viag is the raciest with 627 while BG brings up the rear. The average oil company hits 512, BP at the top and Royal Dutch/Shell at the bottom. Banking and finance companies manage 519, with Standard Chartered (653) at the top of the group and NatWest Group at the bottom.

First published in 1991, the company report Report provides an invaluable and practical guide to what works (and what does not) in the first part of a company's annual report and accounts.

The company report Report, 1998/99 edition is available from Prowse & Co., £295 plus p&p. E-mail: reception@prowse.co.uk. Tel: (UK) 01372 363386.

For information contact Peter Prowse or Michael Binns, Prowse & Co., Tel: (44) (0)1372 363386