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MARSHALL, Mich., Nov. 1, 2002.—In his monthly Newsletter on Annual Reports, Editor Sid Cato disparages everything from companies that use EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) to the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, "the beleaguered" Harvey Pitt.
Cato, in his exclusive, 17th annual Producer Poll (copyright 1985-2002), says the average per-copy investment in 2001 annuals was $3.24, "only 80 cents more than 17 years earlier, when annuals cost $2.44 each, on average." Cato said his survey indicates that men producers averaged salaries between $77,500 and $92,500, women producers $28,000 less. "Of the year's 10-best reports, three had women producers at the helm," he said. His poll shows about one in three corporate chieftains (32.1%) actually writes his or her own letter to shareholders, "while more than three in four (78.6%) say the CEO is actively involved in the project." Fully "half say the task takes half a year." Cato reported that voters by a two-to-one margin foresaw that the SEC chairman "is history, or at least should be"—this, in a Wall Street Journal online survey. |