TSX SYMBOL: BEI February 27, 2004
Boardwalk Receives CIRI Grand Prix Prize for Best Overall Mid-Cap Investor Relations
View Winners List NEWS RELEASE TRANSMITTED BY CCNMatthews FOR: IR MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 27, 2004 - 09:17 ET IR Magazine: Investors And Analysts Choose The Best Communicators Among Canadian Companies TORONTO, ONTARIO--Last night, over 450 corporate investor relations professionals, CEOs, CFOs and IR consultants gathered at the Fairmont Royal York in Toronto to honor the best communicators among Canadian companies at the seventh IR Magazine Canada Awards. The annual gala event awards companies and individuals who excell in a number of categories related to investor relations including corporate governance. Among the companies that stood out for their IR efforts this year were EnCana, Enbridge and Boardwalk Equities. Each were awarded the Grand Prix prize for best overall investor relations in their respective market cap categories. Other winners included Manulife Financial's CEO Dominic D'Allessandro who took home the award for best IR by a CEO. The financial services giant also garnered the award for best investment community meetings. ATI Technologies was another winner this year, with its head of IR, Janet Craig, receiving best IRO in the $1-10 bn market cap category and its management getting best senior management communications. One category that was of particular interest this year was best corporate governance. Attendees were not surprised that Royal Bank of Canada sweeped this prize; the company has put forth tremendous efforts in the area of governance in the last few years. Winners were chosen in 17 categories through an independent survey of over 250 investors and analysts conducted by Toronto-based research firm Value Gap Advisors. Interviews with buy-side analysts and portfolio managers and sell-side analysts took place from December 2003 to January 2004. A database of investment community contacts was provided by Thomson Financial and WILink provided retail investor contacts for this survey. Awards were given to companies in three market cap categories: small, mid and large-cap. Along with identifying winners in a number of categories, this research tracks trends in investor relations. It also reveals the investment community's most candid thoughts on the state of IR in Canada. All results are compiled in the Canada Research Report 2004 which is now available for purchase. (For more information, please visit, www.IRontheNet.com) About IR magazine and the IR Magazine Awards Published in New York and London by Cross-Border Publishing, IR magazine is the only global publication focused on the interface between companies and their investors. IR magazine has hosted annual awards ceremonies in the UK, the UK, continental Europe, Central & Eastern Europe, Canada, Ireland and South Africa since 1991, with combined attendance of more than 6,000 investor relations professionals. For more information, go to www.IRontheNet.com. -30- FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT: Adrienne Baker Editor-in-Chief IR Magazine +1 212 430 6867 adrienne@irmag.com
