8. Relations with shareholders and investors
Snam has adopted a communication policy that aims to engage in constant dialogue with shareholders, institutional investors, socially responsible investors, analysts and all financial market operators, and to ensure the systematic disclosure of timely and comprehensive information on its activities, limited only by the confidentiality requirements inherent to certain types of information. It is for this reason that information is provided to investors, the market and news media through press releases, periodic meetings with institutional investors, the financial community and the press, and the ample documentation continually made available and updated on the Company’s website.
Information regarding reports, significant events/transactions and procedures issued by Snam on corporate governance is disclosed to the public in a timely manner and posted on the Company’s website. Also available on the website are the Company’s press releases, the documentation used in meetings with financial analysts, notices to shareholders, and information and documentation on agenda items for Shareholders’ Meetings, including the minutes of these meetings.
Relations with shareholders and financial market operators are handled by the Investor Relations unit. Information of interest to them is available on the Company’s website and may also be requested by emailing investor.relations@snam.it. Relations with the news media are handled by the Institutional Relations and Communications Department. Information of interest to them is available on the Company’s website.
The pages in the Investor Relations area of the Company’s website contain the “Financial Markets Reviews”, which provide a monthly analysis of the financial markets and of the stock market performance of the utilities sector, Snam’s stock and that of its competitors, and “News & Facts”, a quarterly publication for individual investors. Since 2010, the Investor Relations section of the Company website has also included an interactive version of the “Guide for shareholders”, which is updated semi-annually and provides a summary of useful information so that all shareholders can actively follow their investment in Snam.
The Company also annually publishes “Sustainability. Creating shared value”, a document that summarises the sustainability policies behind Snam’s choices and initiatives in its relations with stakeholders.
Snam believes that shareholder participation is a strategic element of corporate governance. To this end, Snam maintains constant dialogue with its major institutional investors and proxy advisors in order to understand their expectations and perceptions with regard to the main areas of corporate governance. Specifically, in 2013 Snam continued to perform many engagement activities in order to ensure that the Company’s remuneration policies remain in line with international best practice.
Snam also encourages initiatives inspired by EU guidelines for drafting principles for managers, investors and advisers regarding transparent voting, monitoring investee companies and managing conflicts of interest (so-called “stewardship code”).