Russian websites - technically good but lack IR content

By Timmy Fredriksson

13 Russian companies made it to the Europe 500 list and were included in Webranking by Comprend. Looking at the results, it's clear that website functionality is their strong suit, while IR still has some way to go.

Functionality scores high, but security could use a boost

Most of the Russian companies have scored well on their basic Webranking functionality criteria. A useful internal search engine and a decent score in perceived page speed were the highest ranked criteria for the region. On top of that, these websites are SEO friendly, and are easily findable through external search engines.

However, about half of the ranked companies don't use https on all pages, which is an issue that needs urgent attention – the sooner the better, in terms of protecting the integrity of the website from intruders, protecting the privacy and security of visitors, and avoiding being punished by browser warnings and ranking lower in search engine results.

With this standard for functionality in place, Russian companies should start looking into populating their websites with the content that their stakeholders are looking for.

IR is more than strategies and contact info

On the whole, Russian IR sections has some way to go before fully satisfying stakeholder demands, seeing as their current average fulfilment score is at 24%. While most of these companies are doing quite well in terms of presenting their group strategy and IR contacts, crucial pieces of information, which lay a stable foundation for an IR section and forward-looking statements, are scarce. Committing to providing this content would greatly increase their appeal to potential investors. Seeing as 17% of the respondents in the Capital Market survey by Comprend follow Eastern Europe, where the economic centre of Russia is located, there's reason to cater to this audience.

The average scores for megatrends analysis and outlooks was at 4% and 8% respectively. By sharing this information, stakeholders and potential investors would be greatly aided in assessing the short- and long-term outlooks. It would also demonstrate that the companies are aware of their current status, challenges, and opportunities and therefore able to act upon and prepare for an ever-changing world. But being prepared isn't everything – the ability to act is equally important, an ability that can be showcased through transparent information about financial targets and achievements, where Russian companies scored an average of 9%.

Best in class in IR amongst the Russian companies is telecommunications company MTS, with an average of 52%

Top performers

The podium for the Russian list of Webranking comprised the following companies:

• In third place, we have energy company Gazprom, with a score of 48.1 points.
• In second place, oil & gas company Lukoil, with a score of 54.5 points.
• The winner is metal & mining company Nornickel, which wins the gold with a score of 55.5 points.

Looking at the full Russian ranking list, it's evident that the top three are quite far ahead of the remaining companies, seeing as most of them did not step above the 40 point line.

Full ranking list

Max score = 100

See the results from other countries