The awards are voted on by analysts and the investment community. Coates Hire, BHP Billiton, BlueScope Steel, AWE, Origin Energy, Downer EDI and Wesfarmers were all recognised for their efforts in keeping shareholders informed regarding company proceedings in a timely manner.

Winners were announced at the annual awards dinner held by IR Magazine at the Westin Sydney, which drew an audience of around 200 individuals. The evening’s master of ceremonies was Sky News TV anchor John Mangos.

BHP Billiton was the evening’s biggest winner, taking home seven of the 17 awards distributed, including best investor relations by a CEO or Chairman at an ASX 100 company and the award for best communication of corporate performance and shareholder value creation.

Malcolm Jackman of Coates Hire took the award for Best Investor Relations by a CEO or Chairman at a Non-ASX 100 Company and Coates Hire also received a commendation in the Grand Prix for Best Investor Relations by a Non-ASX 100 Company category.

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Winners were selected through an independent survey of sell-side and buy-side analysts, portfolio managers and retail investors. For the past six years Cross-Border Publishing has commissioned this survey of the investment community to identify the companies considered to be leading exponents of investor relations in Australia. The research encapsulates industry changes, reviews investors’ requirements and investigates contemporary developments affecting the IR profession.

The 2005 survey of returned many findings on key IR attitudes and issues. Among them, the investment community cited clarity and transparency of disclosure as a major issue.

The awards are internationally recognised as the most accurate and valid measure of excellence in investor relations, thanks to the independent research on which they are based.