View the Brand Finance Mining, Iron & Steel 25 2019 report here
BHP remains the standout brand in the Brand Finance Mining, Iron & Steel 25 2019 ranking. Growing 17% to US$6.0 billion and maintaining its AA brand strength rating, it held its position as the world’s most valuable and world’s strongest mining brand, as well as Australasia’s most valuable business-to-business brand. BHP’s corporate leadership has invested significant effort in charting out a forward-looking brand vision based around growth and security, despite the risk of global financial challenges. Its major re-branding exercise continues to derive strong results as BHP has increased its brand value 51% since 2017.
David Haigh, CEO of Brand Finance, commented:
“In a sector where brand and reputation have been largely ignored, now more than ever, mining companies are realising that branding matters. BHP is the perfect example of this, using a re-branding exercise to demonstrate its role in Australia’s economy and community, substantially improving its brand value over the last two years.”
ArcelorMittal ascends
The world’s second most valuable mining, iron and steel brand goes to ArcelorMittal, improving 52% to US$4.3 billion, with the price recovery of steel helping boost revenues. Acquisitions are also driving its brand value growth; the company completed its transaction to acquire Italian steelworks brand, Ilva, which will be known as ArcelorMittal Italia and help grow its European steel business. It also announced plans to acquire the insolvent Essar Steel, which supplies the only steel approved in India for warships, submarines, battle tanks and armoured vehicles. This acquisition is through a 50-50 joint venture with Nippon Steel, Japan’s largest steel producer and third largest steel producer in the world.
Nippon Steel also performed well in the ranking, increasing 34% to US$3.1 billion as the company focused on growing market share and export volumes of high-grade steel for cars. A strong demand for auto-steel in Asia and North America was a large driver for the company to form joint ventures and carry out acquisitions in these regions.
Domestic focus pays off for Tata Steel
India’s largest private-sector steel producer, Tata Steel is the fastest-growing mining, iron and steel brand this year, up 60% to US$1.2 billion. India experienced increasing demand for steel to facilitate government infrastructure projects, and the company focused its strategy domestically, opening the Kalinganagar steel plant in Odisha, helping Tata Steel to increase sales to almost 8 million tons annually.
In August 2018, Tata Steel announced its Q1 consolidated net profit more than doubled from the same period last year, which was largely contributed to sales growth in the automotive and industrial sectors as well as improved operational efficiencies.
Kobelco crumbles
Following its 15% brand value decrease in 2018, Kobelco fell a further 23% this year to US$736 million in the Brand Finance Mining, Iron & Steel 25 2019 ranking. The company was indicted after admitting to fabricating the strength and quality data of products sold to hundreds of clients, including Boeing, Toyota and General Motors. The scandal has affected both demand and supply of its products – EU aircraft manufactures were advised by the EU aviation regulator to stop using parts supplied by Kobelco – and has also led to a shake-up of the company’s senior management, including the resignation of its chief executive Hiroya Kawasaki.
As Kobelco struggles to turn things around, other brands should take notice. The largest producer of iron ore in the world, Brazilian mining company Vale, improved 26% to US$2.6 billion as the price of iron ore remained relatively high, driving its growth. However, the company’s shares recently plummeted 20% after a tailing dam collapsed in late January, killing more than 150 people. The lasting effects of the dam disaster, both for Vale and iron ore prices, will continue to be seen in the coming months.
ENDS
Note to Editors
Every year, leading valuation and strategy consultancy Brand Finance values the world’s biggest brands. The 25 most valuable mining brands in the world are included in the Brand Finance Mining, Iron & Steel 25 2019 report.
Brand value is understood as the net economic benefit that a brand owner would achieve by licensing the brand in the open market. Brand strength is the efficacy of a brand’s performance on intangible measures relative to its competitors.
Additional insights, more information about the methodology, as well as definitions of key terms are available in the Brand Finance Mining 25, Iron & Steel 2019 report.
Brand Finance helped craft the internationally recognized standard on Brand Valuation – ISO 10668, and the recently approved standard on Brand Evaluation – ISO 20671.
Data compiled for the Brand Finance league tables and reports are provided for the benefit of the media and are not to be used for any commercial or technical purpose without written permission from Brand Finance.
Brand Finance is the world’s leading brand valuation consultancy. Bridging the gap between marketing and finance for more than 25 years, Brand Finance evaluates the strength of brands and quantifies their financial value to help organizations of all kinds make strategic decisions.
Headquartered in London, Brand Finance has offices in over 20 countries, offering services on all continents. Every year, Brand Finance conducts more than 5,000 brand valuations, supported by original market research, and publishes over 100 reports which rank brands across all sectors and countries.
Brand Finance also operates the Global Brand Equity Monitor, conducting original market research annually on over 5,000 brands, surveying more than 150,000 respondents across 38 countries and 31 industry sectors. Combining perceptual data from the Global Brand Equity Monitor with data from its valuation database enables Brand Finance to arm brand leaders with the data and analytics they need to enhance brand and business value.
Brand Finance is a regulated accountancy firm, leading the standardization of the brand valuation industry. Brand Finance was the first to be certified by independent auditors as compliant with both ISO 10668 and ISO 20671 and has received the official endorsement of the Marketing Accountability Standards Board (MASB) in the United States.
Brand is defined as a marketing-related intangible asset including, but not limited to, names, terms, signs, symbols, logos, and designs, intended to identify goods, services, or entities, creating distinctive images and associations in the minds of stakeholders, thereby generating economic benefits.
Brand strength is the efficacy of a brand’s performance on intangible measures relative to its competitors. Brand Finance evaluates brand strength in a process compliant with ISO 20671, looking at Marketing Investment, Stakeholder Equity, and the impact of those on Business Performance. The data used is derived from Brand Finance’s proprietary market research programme and from publicly available sources.
Each brand is assigned a Brand Strength Index (BSI) score out of 100, which feeds into the brand value calculation. Based on the score, each brand is assigned a corresponding Brand Rating up to AAA+ in a format similar to a credit rating.
Brand Finance calculates the values of brands in its rankings using the Royalty Relief approach – a brand valuation method compliant with the industry standards set in ISO 10668. It involves estimating the likely future revenues that are attributable to a brand by calculating a royalty rate that would be charged for its use, to arrive at a ‘brand value’ understood as a net economic benefit that a brand owner would achieve by licensing the brand in the open market.
The steps in this process are as follows:
1 Calculate brand strength using a balanced scorecard of metrics assessing Marketing Investment, Stakeholder Equity, and Business Performance. Brand strength is expressed as a Brand Strength Index (BSI) score on a scale of 0 to 100.
2 Determine royalty range for each industry, reflecting the importance of brand to purchasing decisions. In luxury, the maximum percentage is high, while in extractive industry, where goods are often commoditised, it is lower. This is done by reviewing comparable licensing agreements sourced from Brand Finance’s extensive database.
3 Calculate royalty rate. The BSI score is applied to the royalty range to arrive at a royalty rate. For example, if the royalty range in a sector is 0-5% and a brand has a BSI score of 80 out of 100, then an appropriate royalty rate for the use of this brand in the given sector will be 4%.
4 Determine brand-specific revenues by estimating a proportion of parent company revenues attributable to a brand.
5 Determine forecast revenues using a function of historic revenues, equity analyst forecasts, and economic growth rates.
6 Apply the royalty rate to the forecast revenues to derive brand revenues.
7 Discount post-tax brand revenues to a net present value which equals the brand value.
Brand Finance has produced this study with an independent and unbiased analysis. The values derived and opinions presented in this study are based on publicly available information and certain assumptions that Brand Finance used where such data was deficient or unclear. Brand Finance accepts no responsibility and will not be liable in the event that the publicly available information relied upon is subsequently found to be inaccurate. The opinions and financial analysis expressed in the study are not to be construed as providing investment or business advice. Brand Finance does not intend the study to be relied upon for any reason and excludes all liability to any body, government, or organisation.
The data presented in this study form part of Brand Finance's proprietary database, are provided for the benefit of the media, and are not to be used in part or in full for any commercial or technical purpose without written permission from Brand Finance.
