Swiss firms take longer than most of their European counterparts to publish their annual results, according to a survey published on Saturday.

On average, European companies took 48.5 days in 2001 to publish their figures after the official end of their accounting year.

But Switzerland lags behind in the survey, with Swiss firms taking an average of 55 days to publish their results.

The study, which compared firms across Europe and Australia, was carried out by consultancy firm KPMG. It reveals that the fastest Swiss companies needed only 12 days to release their figures, while the slowest waited 80 days before publishing their results.

The only countries found to be slower than Switzerland were France, whose businesses took on average 56 days to publish results, and Germany, where the average time between the close of books and the publication of figures was 73 days.

Sweden - where companies took on average only 28 days to publish their results - appears at the top of the list, closely followed by Finland (30 days) and Australia (35 days).

The report concludes that companies which publish their accounts without undue delay can gain commercial advantage over their tardier rivals.

"Publishing information as quickly as possible gives the company a good image not just among its shareholders but also among its customers, employees and the markets," the report suggests.

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