Following our benchmark-analysis, where we, among other indices, explored the conversion of online annual reports of DAX 80 companies, we looked at the situation in interim reporting.
The findings are simply disappointing. Whereas 56 % of all DAX 80 companies present their annual report as a full HTML-solution, the percentage shrinks to 24 % in interim reporting. Only 19 out of 80 companies make use of the potential of the internet in interim reporting issues. The stake of (user-unfriendly) JPG-shows (11 %) is lower than in annual reporting (26 %) either. This means that 65 % of all interim reports are provided as PDF, what adds absolutely no value to the report.
Since starting our benchmark survey in 2003 we have been noticing a clear trend towards high-quality HTML reports. Search functions and links to related content are just two of the many advantages HTML provides in comparison to PDF. We will have a closer look at the development of HTML interim reporting in the future.