| Balance
sheet |
A
statement showing the nature and amount of a company's
assets, liabilities, and shareholders' equity at a given
date. |
| Earnings
per share |
The
measurement of the total return earned by a company on
its ordinary share capital. Calculated by taking the gross
income after depreciation, interest, preference shares
and minority interests, deducting tax and dividing the
resulting figure by the number of ordinary shares. |
| Income
statement |
A
statement showing the operating performance of a company
for a specified time period. |
| IPO |
A
method of offering new shares made to the public for subscription
or purchase by, or on behalf of, a company of its own
shares. |
| Issued
share capital |
The
total number of shares issued by the company. |
| Offer
for sale |
A
method of offering shares where an offer is made to the
public by, or on behalf of, the existing substantial shareholders
of the IPO company. |
| Ordinary
shares |
Shares
representing ownership rights in a company. These include
the right to vote in general meetings and to elect and
dismiss directors. If the company has issued preference
shares, both ordinary and preference shareholders have
ownership rights, but preference shares normally have
prior claims on dividends and, in the event of liquidation,
assets. |
| Par
value Nominal value |
The
price at which the share is issued, i.e., the face value
of the investment. |
| Price
earning ratio |
The
ratio between the price of a share and the earnings of
the company. It is obtained by dividing the current share
price with the latest earnings per share. |
| Rights
issue |
A
new offer of shares to existing shareholders. It gives
shareholders the right to buy additional shares depending
on how many shares they own. For example, in a "one
for one rights issue" each shareholder is offered
one share for every share owned. The capitalisation of
the company will increase by the amount of shares purchased
by the shareholders. |
| Securities |
Debentures,
stocks and shares in a company including any rights or
options in respect of the debentures, stocks and shares,
and any interests in unit trust schemes. |
| Underwriter |
A
merchant or investment bank that guarantees a minimum
level of subscription to a share or debt issue by underwriting
them and then offering them for sale to the public. If
public subscriptions fail to reach the guaranteed level,
the underwriter takes up the shortfall. Underwriters may
appoint sub-underwriters to share the risk. |
