New Orleans, La. – Investment experts have ranked Entergy Corporation (NYSE:
ETR) among the best companies in the United States – and the very best in the
utility industry – for effectiveness of their corporate investor relations
programs.
The market research firm Greenwich Associates, which provides research and
consulting to global financial-services companies, conducted its annual survey
in early 2007 of more than 700 investment analysts. The survey ranks a public
company's investor relations efforts against industry peers.
Entergy ranked at the top of the list in the utility industry and finished third
of all the approximately 200 public companies across the country receiving 10 or
more survey evaluations, the minimum number needed to be included in the
rankings.
Greenwich interviewed portfolio managers and investment analysts at nearly
250 of the largest U.S. investing institutions in the first quarter of this
year. Analysts evaluated large publicly traded companies they cover, based on 12
factors including capability and credibility of senior management, quality of
the company’s written reports, accessibility of senior management, transparency
of accounting information, quality of investor meetings, and overall performance
of each company’s investor relations department.
In its announcement of the rankings, Greenwich said that effective investor
relations programs depend in part on consistent participation and support of
companies’ chief executive officer and chief financial officer.
“The best IR programs are true team efforts between these executives and the
IR manager,” said Greenwich consultant Bill Bruno.
Others among the top 15 in the rankings included companies such as Burlington
Northern Santa Fe, EOG Resources, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, J.C. Penney,
United Technologies, Staples, AFLAC and Nordstrom.
The Greenwich results are consistent with other recognition received earlier
this year, demonstrating Entergy’s commitment to the highest standards in
conducting business. For example, Entergy is the only U.S. utility named to
Forbes magazine’s list of America’s 100 Most Trustworthy Companies for its
corporate governance practices and accounting transparency. Entergy’s corporate
governance ratings assigned in the Institutional Shareholder Services U.S. Proxy
Analysis also outperformed 99.8 percent of the companies in the S&P 500 and 100
percent of other companies in the utilities group.
Entergy Corporation is an integrated energy company engaged primarily in
electric power production and retail distribution operations. Entergy owns and
operates power plants with approximately 30,000 megawatts of electric generating
capacity, and it is the second-largest nuclear generator in the United States.
Entergy delivers electricity to 2.6 million utility customers in Arkansas,
Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Entergy has annual revenues of more than $10
billion and approximately 14,500 employees.
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Entergy’s online address is
www.entergy.com.