Baltic Market Awards 2008


On December 3rd, NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. announced the companies from NASDAQ OMX Baltic market with the best investor relations (IR) in 2008. The Baltic Market Awards ceremony took place simultaneously in Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius, the capitals of the Baltic States. The aim of the awards is to highlight best achievements in IR among listed companies and motivate companies to pay attention to investor relations and adapt best practices, as well provide companies with individual evaluation and consultancy from exchange side. Each company is evaluated by more than 100 criteria, comprising the quality of annual and periodical reports, disclosures, web page and analysts’ opinions. This year 68 companies were evaluated. Read the press release


Baltic Market Awards winners 2008

Best Investor Relations in the Baltic Countries -  SAF Tehnika (see photo, video )
Best Investor Relations in the Baltic Countries among Small Cap Companies - SAF Tehnika (see photo, video )
Best Annual Report in the Baltic Countries - VST (see photo, video)
Best Investor Relations Online in the Baltic Countries –Grindeks (see photo, video )
Most visible improvement over the year in the Baltic Countries - Eesti Ehitus (see photo, video )
Best Investor Relations in NASDAQ OMX Tallinn - Baltika (see photo, video )
Best Investor Relations in Riga Stock Exchange - SAF Tehnika (see photo, video )
Best Investor Relations in Vilnius Stock Exchange –TEO LT (see photo, video )

Member of the Year 2008 - SEB Bankas (see photo, video)

 

The 2009 Evaluation Committee

The evaluation committe consists of exchange representatives, independent and academic experts and investors. In 2008 the members of the evaluation committee were as follows.

Representatives of NASDAQ OMX Baltic exchanges:
Andrus Alber, Chair of the Management Board, NASDAQ OMX Tallinn
Daiga Auziņa-Melnalksne, Chair of the Management Board, NASDAQ OMX Riga
Arminta Saladžiene, Chair of the Management Board, NASDAQ OMX Vilnius  

Independent representatives:
Geoffrey Mazullo, Corporate Governance expert, Partners for Financial Stability Program, Chair of the committee
Dalia Jasulaitytė, Director of New Markets, NASDAQ OMX

Representatives of academia:
Anete Pajuste, Riga Business School
Media representatives:
Virginija Žygienė, Verslo Žinios
Tõnis Oja, Äripäev
 

Investors:
Enn Metsar, Hansa Investment funds
Martynas Česnavičius, Amber Trust

 

Quotes


Bob Greifeld, CEO of The NASDAQ OMX Group addressing the winners and the audience at the Baltic Market Awards 2008.

“We are pleased to see the improvement. The average score for Baltic companies has increased by 9,3 % in 2008. Since we started the project in 2006 the results have shown a remarkable 28% improvement which means companies have made a substantial effort to meet the needs of investors and communicate with them openly. Our Customer Surveys also show that The Baltic Market Awards initiative as such has been one of the driving forces behind the improvement. The biggest progress is related to the quality of periodic reports, webpages, and annual reports, the quality measure of those have almost doubled. However the quality of corporate disclosures does not show that remarkable results. This is still something that we expect companies to work on in the future,” said Henrik Elfving, president of NASDAQ OMX Baltic market.

“Excellence in investor relations is being honored. As an organization we value the power of IR; in fact we are unique as an exchange in the breadth and depth of support we provide to IR professionals. Congratulations to our 2008 winners and I invite all our issuers and members to use the network and possibilities that our global company offers to you not only in Baltics but also in Stockholm, London, NY and many other places in the world. I also want to thank our excellent members for their support and extend particular thanks and congratulations to our member of the year,” said Bob Greifeld, CEO of The NASDAQ OMX Group.

TOP 20 companies


Top 20 ranking Baltic companies in 2008 according to BMA criteria:

1. SAF Tehnika
2. TEO LT
3. Baltika
4. Tallinna Vesi
5. Sanitas
6. Eesti Telekom
7. Grindeks
8. VST
9. Invalda
10. Eesti Ehitus
11. Latvijas Kuģniecība
12. Merko Ehitus
13. Latvijas Gāze
14. Arco Vara
15. Vilkyškių pieninė
16. Harju Elekter
17. Limarko laivininkystės kompanija
18. Lietuvos dujos
19. Ekspress Grupp
20. Stumbras