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Interpreting company reports and accounts

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9. Other information sources

The annual report and accounts of a company isn't the whole story. There are many other sources of information on company performance, some of which we briefly summarise here:

Information provided by the company itself

• Interim report
• Prospectuses and listing particulars
• Circulars on acquisitions and disposals
• Documents issued in a contested bid
• Company newsletters and magazines
• Company websites
• Form 20-F: the form that UK companies have to file with the SEC if their shares are listed in the US.
• Catalogues and sales information literature
• AGM

External information

• Registrar of Companies
  'Companies House' is where all UK companies have to file accounts. These are available for inspection at offices in London, Cardiff, Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester, Edinburgh and Glasgow, or can be accessed online. Telephone 0870 3333636 for information.
• Extel cards:
  Printed and electronic company information (0207 78 0805). Now part of Thomson.
• REFS:
  'Really Essential Financial Statistics' devised by Jim Slater and produced by Hemmington Scott in hard copy, CD and online formats. Provides: brokers' estimates and concensus estimate, detailed 5-year financials + 2 years estimates, listing of all directors and their shareholdings, company contact details, main activities of company, concise coverage of events, announcements and changes affacting the company in the last 12 months, key performance statistics and value indicators including calculation of important ratios.
• Hemscott Company Guide:
  Information on 2,300 UK stock market companies, published quarterly by Hemmington Scott.
• Key Notes:
  Market reports and reviews on over 200 industry sectors, which includes analysis of the major companies and their financial data.
• The Estimate Directory (TED):
  Monthly directory providing a profile of over 1,500 UK stocks, outlining its main activity, its market cap, share price graph and 12 monthly highs and lows, and major shareholders. TED is best known though, for the information it gives on brokers' forecasts. These are the forecasts of sales, profits, eps and dps given by the company's own broker, and also by other brokers who follow the stock. TED presents them in tabular form, and shows whether a company has been upgraded or downgraded and what buy/sell/hold recommendations have been made.

  Good public libraries will usually have these directories.

1. The five main components of a set of report and accounts 2. What to look for in the directors' report 3. What to look for in the P&L 4. Earnings per share (EPS) 5. Price earnings ratio (P/E) 6. What to look for in the balance sheet 7. What to look for in the cash flow statement 8. What to look for in the auditors' report 9. Other information sources 10. Conclusion

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