• 21 companies listed on the Main Market of the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB) achieved the highest VEKTOR by ARIR score in 2024, compared to 16 companies in 2023.

• 5 issuers out of 35 included in BETAeRO obtained a VEKTOR by ARIR score of 10 for investor communication, compared to 4 issuers in 2023.

• The indicator will be extended to include companies issuing bonds starting  2025.

• ARIR presents, for the first time, an aggregated report showcasing the results.

ARIR (Romanian Investor Relations Association), the promoter of the Investor Relations (IR) concept, announces the results of VEKTOR by ARIR 2024, the indicator that assesses investor communication for listed companies.

VEKTOR by ARIR 2024 Results:

On the Main Market, out of 81 evaluated companies, 21 companies achieved a VEKTOR by ARIR score of 10 based on a methodology comprising 10 criteria assessing transparency, proactive investor communication, and corporate governance. For AeRO market companies, 5 out of 35 evaluated companies included in the BETAeRO index achieved a VEKTOR by ARIR score of 10 for investor communication, based on an adapted methodology, which includes 11 criteria.

Main Market

• VEKTOR by ARIR 10 was achieved by the following companies: Antibiotice; AQUILA; AROBS Transilvania Software; Banca Transilvania; BRD; Digi Communications; Electrica; Farmaceutica REMEDIA; Hidroelectrica; IMPACT Developer & Contractor; MedLife; OMV Petrom; One United Properties; Purcari; Nuclearelectrica; Roca Industry; Romgaz; Sphera Franchise Group; TeraPlast; Transgaz; Transilvania Investments.

• VEKTOR  by ARIR 9 was achieved by two companies: ALRO; Safetech Innovation.

AeRO Market

• VEKTOR by ARIR 10 was achieved by the following companies: 2B Intelligent Soft; Arctic Stream; DN AGRAR Group; Norofert; Simtel Team.

• VEKTOR by ARIR 9,5 was ahieved by one company: SIPEX.
• VEKTOR by ARIR 9 was achieved by the following companies: Holde Agri Invest; Meta Estate Trust.

The average VEKTOR by ARIR score for all Main Market companies is 4.1, up from 4 in 2023. For the companies included in the Premium Category , the average score is 7.7, slightly lower than the score 7.8 registered in 2023. Regarding the companies included in the BET index, the average VEKTOR by ARIR score has increased to 9.5, compared to 9.1 in 2023.

The average of the VEKTOR by ARIR indicator for companies included in BETAeRO is 5.3 compared with 5 in 2023.

The most fulfilled criteria by Main Market companies, according to the VEKTOR by ARIR 2024 methodology, are: Criterion 7 – requiring the presentation of the Board of Directors and executive management and Criterion 5 – requiring the publication of financial results in an easy to process format. These criteria were met by approximately half of the evaluated companies.

On the other hand, the least fulfilled criteria, met by only 28 companies, include: Criterion 2 – requiring to ensure investor access to teleconferences, , Criterion 4 – requiring to publish bilingual audio/video recordings or transcripts of the financial results presentations and Criterion 9 – requiring to organize at least one dedicated annual event dedicated to investors or participation at an event for investors organized by a third party.

The most fulfilled criteria by the AeRO market companies, according to the VEKTOR by ARIR 2024 methodology, are: Criterion 5 – requiring the use of digital tools for presenting financial results and Criterion 2 – requiring the company website to provide information in both Romanian and English. These criteria were met by over 60% of the companies. The least fulfilled criterion was Criterion 11 – requiring access to General Shareholders' Meetings (AGMs) through electronic instruments.

The VEKTOR by ARIR 2024 results are available on each issuer’s page on the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB) website. Additionally, the aggregated report, along with relevant statistics, can be found in the dedicated VEKTOR by ARIR section on the ARIR website.

The VEKTOR by ARIR evaluation has been conducted annually since 2019. Since 2022, the indicator has been extended to companies included in the BETAeRO index. The VEKTOR by ARIR results are audited annually by Forvis Mazars Romania.

*This is a press release.