Roche, Merck Kgga and Sonova Receive Top Positions in Webranking Sector Report on the Healthcare Industry

Comprend is pleased to asnnounce the first Webranking by Comprend sector report focusing exclusively on the healthcare sector. The report, produced in collaboration with Lundquist, reveals that European healthcare firms improved their overall score by 1 point since 2014, indicating that the sector is making slow progress in answering to the calls of stakeholders.

Comprend is pleased to announce the first Webranking by Comprend sector report focusing exclusively on the healthcare sector. The report, produced in collaboration with Lundquist, reveals that European healthcare firms improved their overall score by 1 point since 2014, indicating that the sector is making slow progress in answering to the calls of stakeholders.

Switzerland's healthcare company Roche scores the highest (60.9 points out of 100), with German Merck Kgga placing second (60 points), and Swiss firm Sonova coming in third (59.3 points). The UK's Shire wins Best Improver by increasing its score by 13 points since 2014, while Sonova improved by 9 points.

Highlights From the Research

Considering 50 points out of 100 as the threshold at which companies respond adequately to market requirements, less than one-third (29%) of healthcare companies pass the stress test in 2015, slightly increasing from 26% in 2014.

The failure rate, those companies at the bottom of the ranking that score less than 30 points, remains at the 2014 level of 4%. Most healthcare firms (67%) achieve between 30-50 points (finding themselves in the "held back" category).

Looking at the figures, only a quarter of evaluated companies present their investor proposition on their website. Ideally, this would communicate the firm's investment case by connecting the general business strategy – provided by 92% of firms - with detailed R&D information to attract and convince potential investors. Sonova, for example, provides a clear investor proposition by outlining the concrete actions needed to obtain specific goals.

Sector Performance: Chemicals Takes First Place, Healthcare Sector Falls Down the Rankings

Healthcare now ranks as the fourth most transparent sector of 22 sectors included in our Webranking European research, dropping from second place last year despite its minimal 1 point increase in its overall score. This fall in the rankings is largely due to other industries improving their digital communication performance at a much higher rate than that of healthcare firms (insurance firms, for example, jumped up 8 places since 2014).

Chemical companies top the ranking once more with an average of 48.5 points, led again by German giants BASF and Bayer. Despite improving their overall score since last year, among the worst performing sectors we find the same culprits as last year. Retailers continue to perform poorly with 34.2 points, alongside banks who fall below the average with 39.2 points. Financial services providers continue to rank as the worst performing sector with 32.5 points.

Download the Webranking by Comprend Healthcare Sector 2015-2016 Report

Contact us

For further information regarding the research and to order a full company report, please contact helena.wennergren@comprend.com or caroline.becker@lundquist.it.