16 TH ANNUAL KWD WEBRANKING – 7 TH IN SPAIN
Spanish websites score high in corporate responsibility and
low in corporate governance
Spanish listed companies continued to impress in 2012 with their online communication of corporate
responsibility. Anyone interested in learning how much Spanish public companies care about society or
the environment would likely find a whole lot of information.
Financial stakeholders, though, who are the companies’ owners and creditors, could hardly expect the
same treatment according to the findings of the 7th edition of KWD Webranking’s study of leading Spanish
corporate websites.
Equity and debt investors were at best roughly treated when seeking useful and usable information to
support investment – or divestment – decisions. Also, the low scores achieved by most companies on
corporate governance suggest that ticking the right boxes does not necessarily mean you are providing
the most useful information to investors.
Data about the company’s share satisfied 40% of users’ requirements, while debt data scored a meagre
17% on average. Staffan Lindgren, Managing Director, KW Digital, said: “The failure to provide easy-touse information to capital market participants is worrisome particularly at a time when banks adjust
lending portfolios and companies must seek alternative funding sources – typically the markets for equity
and debt.”
Job seekers are another group that listed companies seem to spurn. This is all the more surprising as this
is a user category that is well attuned to the online medium. The fact that there are many applicants
chasing a few jobs can hardly be an excuse for not catering for those who can over time help companies
to satisfy investors’ ever higher return requirements.
Although companies are stepping up their response to information needs, there is still plenty of room for
improvement in a whole range of areas such as strategy, risk management and peer information, in
parallel with a more visible presence in social media.
However, companies’ performance in social media channels like Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn or Twitter
improved in the year, although there are lingering doubts on which contents to publish, how to
communicate them to diverse audiences or in which language.
LONDON
STOCKHOLM
DUBAI
MILAN
LISBON
11th Floor Citypoint  1 Ropemaker Street  London EC2Y 9AW  United Kingdom  Phone +44 (20) 7920 9735
Sveavägen 20  Box 3666  SE-103 59 Stockholm  Sweden  Phone +46 8 407 20 00
Liberty House  Dubai International Financial Centre  PO Box 506663  Dubai  Phone +971 (4) 3259675
Lundquist Srl  Via San Maurilio 23/Piazza Borromeo  20123 Milan  Italy  Phone +39 02 36 75 41 26
Sinoptica  Rua Artilharia Um, 79 – 3º  Lisbon  Portugal  Phone +351 919 935 833
www.kw-digital.com
A changing Spanish podium
KWD Webranking 2012-2013 results
Rank
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
Company
Repsol
BBVA
Iberdrola
Ferrovial
Telefónica
Caixa Bank
Acciona
Banco Santander
Amadeus
Red Eléctrica
Abertis
Gas Natural Fenosa
Enagás
Banco Sabadell
Inditex
Sacyr
Banco Popular
Grifols
ACS
Prosegur
Mapfre
Mediaset España
Acerinox
Bankia
Zardoya Otis
Average score
Score
66.9
58.2
48.0
44.9
44.2
44.0
42.6
42.2
40.0
39.1
38.1
34.7
33.2
32.6
30.1
29.8
28.0
27.4
23.9
22.5
19.4
18.7
16.6
16.0
5.2
33.85
With 66.9 points, Repsol was the winner for the seventh consecutive year, followed by BBVA, which rose
from fourth to second place after improving its score by a full 10.45 points. Iberdrola kept its third place
with 48 points.
The overall decline in this year’s average scores is explained to a large extent by the inclusion of criteria
measuring companies’ performance in social media. This is easily understandable as it takes time for
companies to devise strategies to put these novel media to the best use.
Commenting on the Spanish results, Staffan Lindgren said: “Spanish companies are on the right track. Yet
they should strive for greater transparency and accelerate their move towards more open
communications on items as simple as the name of key company officers”.
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Other interesting findings about Spanish websites included:
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16 out of the 25 companies included in the survey did not provide information about strategy
18 companies did not offer the possibility to download financial information to an Excel spreadsheet
20 companies did not provide information on principal risks or risk management
Only two companies offered an investment proposition on their corporate website
Only four companies had an organisation chart about governing bodies
Only one company provided information about director remuneration
21 companies did not provide information on auditors or their remuneration
Not a single company reported on directors’ dealings in the company’s stock
Only eight companies provided information to jobseekers
Not a single company published an employee survey
Only three companies published employee testimonies
19 companies do not provide the contact details of a single human resources person.
Further information
Please contact:
About KWD Webranking
Miguel Cruz de Oliveira
+351 919 935 833
mco@sinoptica.pt
Andreia Balacó
+351 213 868 021
asb@sinoptica.pt
About KW Digital
Staffan Lindgren
Managing Director
+46 8 407 22 12
staffan.lindgren@kw-digital.com
Phil Marchant
Managing Director (UK)
+44 (0)20 7920 9734
phil.marchant@kw-digital.com
For more information about KW Digital please visit www.kw-digital.com.
Methodology
KWD Webranking, now in its 16th annual edition, is the largest and most recognised ranking of corporate
websites globally, giving in-depth analysis of digital corporate communications across the largest publicly
listed companies in the world. This year KWD Webranking takes the survey a step further and assesses
companies’ social media content and presence in Google Search.
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KWD Webranking is produced by KW Digital, the digital corporate communications agency of King
Worldwide. KWD Webranking is a valuable instrument for measuring the effectiveness and performance
of companies’ digital corporate communications based on stakeholder demands. Nearly 1,000 corporate
websites from across the globe are included in the 2012-2013 edition of KWD Webranking.
KWD Webranking uses a unique and objective method to review the English language version of
corporate websites (excluding the commercial sections), social media channels and Google Search using a
research protocol that directly reflects target groups’ needs.
The companies included in the ranking are selected based on market capitalisation. KWD Webranking
ranks the 100 largest companies in the world (Financial Times’ Global 100 list) and the 500 largest
companies in Europe (Financial Times’ Europe 500 list). For select markets KWD Webranking has added
companies to create more extensive country lists – this year there are national top lists in 19 European
countries. So in total, 766 European companies are ranked. The companies are categorized according to
the 19 super sectors in the Industry Classification Benchmark (ICB), an industry classification taxonomy
developed by Dow Jones and FTSE.
For more information about KWD Webranking: http://kw-digital.com/kwd-webranking/
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