Vodacom is the most reputable company among South Africa’s top 20 JSE-listed companies by revenue, a new survey has found.
The 2013 RepTrak Pulse survey placed Vodacom rival MTN in fifth place, down from second place last year. Old Mutual placed second, with retailer Pick ’n Pay and Sasol taking third and fourth places respectively.
Cell C was not been surveyed as it is not a listed company, and Telkom did not make the grade.
The survey was conducted by The Reputation Institute in January and February among a “representative sample of local respondents” that fell into the LSM 6 and above living standards measure categories. Respondents are asked to score companies out of 100 using four indicators: trust, esteem, admiration and good feeling.
The sample group for South Africa consisted of 1 535 individuals, each of whom were asked to rank a maximum of five companies with which they were familiar. Companies that aren’t listed on the JSE or are wholly owned subsidiaries of other companies were also included in the survey but not the final rankings.
Vodacom’s score of 74,17 was almost five points ahead of Old Mutual and represents a 7% improvement over last year’s survey.
Seven “reputation drivers” were used in the survey, namely: products and services, innovation, performance, citizenship, workplace, governance and leadership.
Reputation Institute country manager Trevor Ndlazi says the 2013 survey demonstrates that although South Africans still emphasise products and services, they’re increasingly placing impetus on innovation.
“South Africans want companies to innovate and respond to their specific needs. They are tired of companies ‘recycling’ goods and services,” he says. “What’s good or what works in one country does not necessarily mean it will meet the needs of South Africans.”
The survey measures the reputation of the largest listed South African companies based on revenue and this year mining houses were included for the first time. This addition changed the list of companies appearing in the top 20 because of the change in the revenue average.
Consequently, Woolworths, which topped last year’s survey and would have placed second this year, does not appear in the top 20. Retailers in the top 20 are Pick n Pay which placed third, Shoprite in 10th position and Massmart, which was 19th. With the exception of Woolworths, MTN and Absa, the remaining seventeen companies all improved on their scores from last year.
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First National Bank was the best performer in the banking sector, performing even better than Old Mutual, but it was not rated among the top-20 listed companies because it is a subsidiary of FirstRand and is not listed itself. Sanlam was sixth on the list, Standard Bank seventh and Absa and Nedbank placed eighth and ninth respectively.
Globally, the financial and telecommunications sectors generally tend to score poorly with their respective audiences. Ndlazi says if one looks at this year’s global survey, Vodacom’s score is markedly higher than other international operators. — (c) 2013 NewsCentral Media
