Good at investor relations

A high ranking has been accorded to Statoil by IR Magazine in its annual assessment of the way Nordic companies handle investor relations (IR).

Nominated in three classes, the group came top in two and was runner up to Finland’s Nokia in the Grand Prix for best overall investor relations.

Mari Thjømøe, Statoil’s IR vice president, was named best IR officer at a Norwegian company ahead of Peik Norenberg at Norsk Hydro and Norske Skog’s Jarle Langfjæran.

And Statoil also won the class for best large and mid cap Norwegian company investor relations ahead of Norske Skog and Tomra Systems.

“This reflects the serious commitment we’ve made to the capital market and the good effort by our IR team,” says Ms Thjømøe.

“The Statoil management, both past and present, also bears a large share of the honour for these awards.”

Together with Thore Kristiansen, who heads the group’s IR function in the USA, she received the prizes at a major ceremony in the Helsinki Stock Exchange on 26 May.

IR Magazine staged this Nordic Awards 2004 event, which was also sponsored by the Nordic stock exchanges.

In practice, the prizes are based on feedback from the market. A number of analysts and investors were polled by the magazine.

“These awards are a declaration of confidence from the market,” says Ms Thjømøe. “Our second place after Nokia in the Nordic Grand Prix attracted particular attention.

“It’s the highest placement ever secured by a Norwegian company, and we’re very proud of that.

“This indicates that the quality of our reporting and information to the capital market has reached a high level over the short period since we became a listed company.”