Black sun online_report_analysis_2014

ANALYSIS OF FTSE100 ONLINE ANNUAL REPORTING

28 August 2014

© Black Sun Plc 2014 www.blacksunplc.com

Objectives

• To review the current approach of the FTSE100 to publishing online reports

• To assess the different approach and develop a best practice guide for our clients

Scope

• All the FTSE100 companies as at July 2014

• The analysis covers:– signposting the reports

– where they are located in the website

– the format the report takes

– the features associated with the report

PURPOSE OF THE ANALYSIS

2


Investor section page

CREATING AN EFFECTIVE ONLINE REPORT

Reporting section Online report

Quick read

Content

Downloads

Tools

Homepage

Social Media

Announcements

Printed Report

Website signposts

1 click access

Quick link to prioritycontent

Engagement features- Animation- Videos- Carousels

3

ANALYSIS OF FTSE100ONLINE REPORTING

1


• We assessed how well companies signpost their report on the homepage and the IR sections of the website

• 52% of companies have a link on their homepage straight to the Annual Report (versus 55% last year)

– This may be an image based link or a text link

• 76% have a link on the IR section page (down from 78% last year)

• Our analysis of web traffic shows that most of the visits to the online reports is within 1 month of publication

• Where there is good signposting of the report, between 30% and 50% of traffic from within the website to the online report is straight from the homepage; and about 10% from the investor section page

• It is surprising therefore that fewer companies have these direct links

SIGNPOSTING THE REPORT

5


• There has been a big shift from linking to a separate online report site to including it within the main website.

– 16 out of 53 this year versus 7 out of 55 last year

• This coincides with a growth in single page summary reports which can be housed within a website

• Those companies producing more of their report online still tend to create a separate website

HOUSING THE ONLINE REPORT

87%

70%

13%

30%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

2013 2014

HTML report in corporate website or separate

In site

Separate

6


• There is a wide variety in the terms used in the IR navigation that includes the online report]#

• However 48 companies now have a main navigation in the IR section dedicated to annual reports

• There is a growing trend however to include results, reports and presentations within one section

• In terms of nomenclature:– Reports/reporting and Financial

reports/reporting are most popular

– Some terms continue to be used that give little clue that it houses the online report or links to it

• Investor downloads

• Download centre are examples of this

LOCATION OF THE REPORT IN IR SECTION

0 2 4 6 8 10 12

Financial results

Annual reports & reviews

Download centre

Annual & half year reports

Annual reports & accounts

Investor downloads

Key financial data

Financial & regulatory reports

Economic and financial reports

Financial performance

Financial reports & key documents

Results centre

Results, reports, webcasts & presentations

Corporate reports/reporting

Financials

Results & presentations

Reports and accounts

Investor information

Company reports

Reports, results and presentations

Reporting centre

Publications & reports

Reports & presentations

Annual Report(s)/reporting

Annual report (year)

Reports/reporting

Reports & results

Financial reports/reporting

7


• We analysed the different formats of online reports

• The split between HTML and flipbooks/pdf’s is unchanged

– 54 HTML v 55 last year

– 15 flipbooks v 14 last year

– 31 pdfs v 30 last year

• However the extent and style of HTML report is largely unchanged

– Only 7 companies produced a full HTML report v 21 last year

– 9 delivered the full front end (ie all but the financials) this year versus 16 last year

– The rest (38) created a part HTML report

• This year we have also seen the emergence of 1 page HTML reports, either a simple summary or a more interactive page with sliders, overlays, carousels and video or animations

REPORTING FORMAT

8

21

7

16

9

18

25

0

6

0

7

15 15

84

2227

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

2013 2014

OAR Format

Flat pdf

Interactive pdf

Flipbook

Single summary page

Part HTML 1 page

Part HTML

Front HTML

Full HTML


• The level of interactivity within the online reports has grown

• Companies seem therefore to be investing their budgets in interactive features that aid the communications of the report through digital channels and reducing the extent of the content

• 20 incorporate video – usually on the online report homepage

• 37 have other interactive features such as:– Carousels

– Sliders

– Parallax scrolling

INTERACTIVITY

9


• The reporting content accessed the most is similar for all clients and should be prioritised on the homepage

– Overview

– Strategy

– KPI’s

– Business model

– Downloads

– Chief Executive’s Review

– Chairman’s Report

• Our analysis shows that animations and videos double dwell time on the online reports

KEY CONTENT

10


• Downloads are a key user requirement in online reporting

• All companies provide a full report download

• 55 provide separate downloads for the different sections

• Only 11 now provide excel downloads of the accounts and statements – a big reduction from 22 last year

• 9 companies also provide downloads of other related reports, such as CSR, on the same page to make the user experience easier

DOWNLOADS AVAILABLE

100

57

22

10

100

55

11 90

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Full Section xls Other reports

Downloads provided

2013

2014

11


• There have been some changes in the features incorporated within online reports

• The ability to search the report (not assessed last year) is now the most common feature

• One of the big changes is the reduction in the share feature –mainly due to the inclusion of reports within the corporate site

• Fewer companies are also offering users the option to order a print copy, or to provide feedback

• Other tools such as print basket (ieability of users to add pages to a pdf); chart tools; and comparisons with previous year are largely unchanged

FEATURES AND TOOLS

Search is a new addition to the benchmark

5

15

34

11

3

14

4

13

21

1

26

2

6

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

chart tool printbasket

share feedback Search v last yr Requestprint report

Features and tools

2013 2014

12

Investor Relations

Black sun online_report_analysis_2014