In a welcome display of openness and a recognition of the need for broad shareholder communications, Alternative Investment Market-listed marine communications specialist Software Radio Technology (LON:SRT) hosted a live 38 minute webcast on its site for its shareholders on Friday, providing helpful insight and transparency on its business and its future plans. 

SRT’s CEO, SImon Tucker, talked through a set of presentation slides which had been prepared in response to those questions submitted by investors earlier in the week.

Software Radio Technology develops advanced radio communications technologies which are used to create enabling modules and OEM products. SRT Marine Technology Limited focuses on VHF and AIS technologies for use in navigation and homeland security identification and tracking applications. With several hundred investors, the company decided that a webcast would be an effective and efficient way to address ongoing shareholder queries. Simon Tucker observed:

“Most AIM companies usually only meet their shareholders at events like the AGM, but in fast moving markets, we feel that once or twice a year is not enough. SRT has always tried to communicate clearly with its very loyal shareholder base, and this webcast takes that to the next level; allowing shareholders the chance to ask questions on any topic they feel pertinent to the future of the Company. 

Understandably, as with any such exercise in openness, there were some understandable caveats given potential concerns about price-sensitive disclosure and SRT set out the following rules of engagement:

Answers may sometimes appear to be vague due to SRT’s confidentiality commitments to customers and commercial sensitivities critical to our day to day business. Due to the very large number of questions submitted some may not be specifically answered but covered as part of a general topic. SRT is required to operate within the AIM regulations in regards to disclosures and this may limit the extent of some answer

Live investor webcasts are far more commonplace in the United States where the introduction of Regulation Fair Disclosure in 2000 has spurred widespread adoption of the Web as a dissemination tool, lncluding growing use of social media. Indeed, Google has indicated that it will use its website as the primary tool for disseminating information to investors. UK companies in general, and smaller AIM-listed companies in particular, have been slow to use their website as an effective investor relations tool, in many cases simply complying with the bare minimum required by AIM Rule 26. Brian Basham, CEO of Equity Development, recently called however for a social media rethink of the whole basis of smaller company funding and investor relations. 

On the subject of social media, what was impressive about SRT’s latest effort was the way in which the Company encouraged its shareholders to email in their questions ahead of the live webcast in order to ensure that they tackled the most pressing shareholder concerns. All too often, corporate videos tend to be highly scripted events where the message is carefully stage-managed, and are therefore the poor second cousin to the real-world management interaction that retail investors crave. 

Software Radio Technologies’ webcast provided welcome opportunity for smaller investors to ask questions at a time other than the AGM and when results are unveiled.  Other AIM listed companies, regulators and organisations like the Investor Relations Society would do well to take note of it. On the day, the SRT share price traded up 6.4% to close the week at 34.58p.