In the past week, I received three emails from students asking where they can get annual reports of Philippine companies. It seems like they are required to pass a copy of an annual report for one of their Management subjects.
So where exactly can you get a company’s annual report?
What is an Annual Report?
A company’s annual report is a comprehensive report of the company’s activities throughout the preceding year. The financial performance of the company during the preceding year is one primary information included in annual reports.
Where to get an annual report?
If you are a stockholder of any company, you can visit their office and ask for a copy of the report. As a stockholder — which means you are a part-owner of that firm — you are entitled to receive that report for free.
Actually, all annual reports are supposed to be for free. Beware of people offering to give you a copy of those reports for a certain fee.
If you are not a stockholder, you can still request for a copy but some companies may not give you one, citing reasons such as limited printed copies or that they are not authorized to give copies to non-stockholders.
Where to download annual reports online?
Fortunately, there still is a way to get these annual reports. Most, if not all, publicly-listed companies offer a free download of the online version on the company’s website.
Simply visit the official site and go to the “Investor Relations” section. For example, here is PLDT‘s Investor Relations page where you can download their annual reports from 2004 until 2007. Jollibee, on the other hand, has downloadable annual reports from 2002 to 2007 in their Investors page.
You can also visit the Philippine Stock Exchange (SEC)’s website to download annual reports and other financial disclosures of public companies. Simply search for the company using the appropriate stock code or stock symbol, then click on the “Corporate “Information” link on the Stock Information page. Under “Company Filings,” you’ll see a listing of reports submitted by the company to the SEC including their annual report.
What about annual reports of other companies?
Companies whose stocks are not traded on the exchange are not required to publicly distribute their reports. You might want to directly ask them for a copy but there’s a big chance they will not give it to you. However, you may still request a copy of the report from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). There is a certain fee, though, to get it.
Hopefully, this information will be of help to those students and others who are interested to get annual reports of Philippine companies.
