Growthpoint wins IAS Award for Communicating and Reporting Excellence
Stuart Snowball, Growthpoint Properties Financial Director.
Recognising the excellent quality of its market intelligence, the Investment Analysts Society (IAS) has awarded Growthpoint Properties Limited with its Best Reporting and Communications Award in the Financial – Financial Services Sector.
“As a JSE ALSI40 listed property company, Growthpoint is aware of its responsibility to provide timely, accurate and meaningful information to the market. We are pleased that our governance, communication and reporting have been acknowledged by the analysts of the IAS,” says Growthpoint Financial Director, Stuart Snowball.
Each year the IAS recognises the skills of listed companies which win its awards for “Best Communicating and Reporting”. This is the first time Growthpoint has received this recognition.
Growthpoint is the largest South African listed property company with total assets exceeding R50 billion and a market capitalisation of R36 billion.
“We consider analysts key stakeholders in our business. We know that providing information swiftly and accurately helps them do their jobs properly. This is essential because they are responsible for managing sizeable investments,” says Snowball.
Growthpoint strives to be transparent in its reporting. A cornerstone of its business is good corporate governance, ethics and risk management. “We have an excellent track record of achieving our stated goals.”
Besides communicating about its performance and prospects, offering market information on major transactions is important for Growthpoint. Especially when the deals represent new territory for the SA listed property sector or expand Growthpoint’s sectors of investment. This was the case when Growthpoint invested in Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) listed Growthpoint Properties Australia and its recent purchase of 50% of the V & A Waterfront, in Cape Town.
“It’s important to share our investment strategies and rationales with the market. It creates insight into how transactions benefit stakeholders and improve our long-term sustainability,” explains Snowball.
The IAS plays an important role in Growthpoint’s communication with analysts. Each year the company presents its half- and full-year results to IAS members. Growthpoint also has many direct engagements with analysts, especially property analysts, ranging from meetings to property tours.
All this is supported with Growthpoint’s marketing communications, like its website, which provides a wealth of information about the company to all stakeholders.
Snowball explains that the huge amount of information compiled to provide market intelligence, and the complexity of collecting it, checking its accuracy and presenting it in a clear, concise format can be an arduous process. However, Growthpoint has developed internal resources to ensure all information is accurate and reliable.
“We also take note of information that analysts request and, where relevant, include this in our communications as a matter of course.”
Snowball reports that the move, over the past two years, to producing an Integrated Annual Review has been a natural one for Growthpoint. “During this journey, we’ve been pleased to confirm that, in many instances, Growthpoint already applies best practice in the sustainability of our business for the long term financially, but also environmentally, socially and in the society in which we live.”
An IAS award signifies high esteem for those companies that hold them. It gives investors confidence in the quality of information provided for analysis of the company. Snowball notes this can also be helpful for international investors who are unfamiliar with the South African market.
“Quality communication and reporting has always been a key objective for Growthpoint. We are eager to continue this at the highest level to ensure that analysts, fund managers, brokers and all stakeholders have access to the information they need,” notes Snowball.
