AA Increase font size
AA Decrease font size
Print this page

Glossary

Key Financial Metrics

Average Capital Invested
A 12-month average of capital invested, calculated as net assets before tax balances, cash and borrowings but after adjustment for accumulated pre-tax Significant Items, actuarial gains and losses and net equity adjustments for equity-settled share-based payments.
Brambles Value Added (BVA)
A measure of economic profit representing the value generated over and above the cost of the capital used to generate that value. It is calculated as:
Cash Flow from Operations
Cash flow generated after net capital expenditure but excluding Significant items that are outside the ordinary course of business.
sales revenue
Sales revenue excluding the revenue of associates and non-trading revenue.
Return On Capital Invested (ROCI)
Underlying Profit divided by Average Capital Invested.
Underlying Profit
Profit from continuing operations before finance costs, tax and Significant Items.

actual currency/FX
Results translated into US dollars at the applicable actual monthly exchange rates ruling in each period.
constant currency/Constant FX
Calculated by translating reported period results into US dollars at the actual monthly exchange rates applicable in the prior corresponding period.
DIN
The sum in a period of: Used as a proxy for estimating the requirement for replacement capital expenditure.
growth capital/capex
Capital expenditure to purchase new pallets, crates and containers to respond to increasing demand from existing customers and/or service the needs of new customers, entry into new markets or general business expansion.
IPEP expense
Periodic expense taken to maintain the Irrecoverable Pooling Equipment Provision at appropriate levels.
Irrecoverable Pooling Equipment Provision (IPEP)
Provision held by Brambles to account for pooling equipment that cannot be economically recovered and for which there is no reasonable expectation of receiving compensation.
maintenance/replacement capital/capex
Capital expenditure to purchase new pallets, crates and containers to replace equipment that cannot be accounted for or has been scrapped as a result of becoming uneconomic to repair. Note: this does not include the cost of raw materials to maintain (i.e. repair) existing equipment, which is expensed in the income statement.
Significant Items
Items of income or expense that are (either individually or in aggregate) material to Brambles or to the relevant business segment and either outside the ordinary course of business or part of the ordinary activities of the business but unusual in size and nature.
Unification
Refers to the unification in December 2006 of the dual-listed companies structure (under which Brambles Industries Limited was listed in Australia and Brambles Industries PLC was listed in the UK) under a new single Australian holding company, Brambles Limited.

earnings per share
Profit after tax, minority interests and Significant Items, divided by shares on issue.
underlying EPS
Profit after tax and minority interests but before Significant items, divided by sgares on issue.
EBITA
Earnings before interest, tax and amortisation; a measure of profitability sometimes used to exclude the impact of non-cash amortisation charges taken against acquired intangible assets.
EBITDA
Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation; a common proxy for the profit generated by a business before accounting, financing and taxation charges.
Underlying EBITDA
EBITDA before Significant Items.
free cash flow
Cash flow generated after net capital expenditure, finance costs and tax, but excluding the net cost of acquisitions and proceeds from business disposals.
operating profit
Statutory definition of profit before finance costs and tax; sometimes called EBIT (earnings before interest and tax).
profit after tax (PAT)
Profit from continued operations and discontinued operations after finance costs tax, minority interests and Significant Items.

addressable market
Refers to the total size of a particular opportunity that Brambles estimated could economically be serviced using a certain type pooled equipment.
asset control/management utilisation
Terms used to refer to the operational efficiency of an equipment pool, generally determined by three key factors:
Velocity: the number of times a piece of unit-load equipment turns through the supply chain in a given year;
Damage: wear and tear of equipment as it turns through the supply chain which determines the level of expense incurred to restore and maintain each piece of equipment; and 
Loss: volume of equipment is deemed irrecoverable because it cannot be accounted for at a given point in time or is uneconomic to retrieve which determines the level of replacement capital expenditure necessary.
asset leakage
Asset leakage refers to the process whereby assets no longer form part of the pool as a result of 'loss' or 'misuse' within the supply chain.
asset turns/cycle time/velocity
The number of times a piece of pooling equipment completes a full cycle through the supply chain in one year; a full cycle is deemed complete once the equipment is returned to Brambles following use by the customer.
exchange model
A model for equipment pooling under which equipment users may exchange the equipment between themselves multiple times before returning it to Brambles but under which responsibility for the equipment generally resides with the first user (e.g. a manufacturer or producer).
Global Supply Chain
Program completed in FY15 to reduce direct costs by US$100 million through Pallets supply chain and logistics efficiencies and IFCO integration synergies.
intermediate bulk containers (IBCs)
Palletised containers used for the transport and storage of bulk products in a variety of industries including the food, chemical, pharmaceuticals and transportation industries.
lane expansion
A "lane" refers to a specific section of a customer’s supply chain. Lane expansion refers to increasing the sections of a customer supply chain Brambles services.
managed exchange and managed recovery
Variations of the exchange model for equipment pooling under which Brambles collects empty pallets from distributors and retailers and returns them to the manufacturer and producers or to a Brambles service centre.
net new business wins
The change in sales revenue in the reporting period resulting from business won or lost in that period and the previous financial year. The revenue impact of net new business wins is included across reporting periods for a total of 12 months from the date of the win or loss and calculated on a constant-currency basis.
organic growth
The change in sales revenue in the reporting period resulting from like-for-like provision of the same services to the same customers.
Pallecon
A contraction of “palletised container” that is a synonym for intermediate bulk container (IBC); also the brand name of a business acquired by Brambles in 2012, now operating as CHEP Pallecon Solutions.
pooling
A resource management term that refers to the grouping together of resources including equipment for the purposes of maximizing network advantage and/or minimising risk to the users. Pooling of equipment is used to maintain "ready for use" equipment while damaged or dirty equipment is repaired and cleaned, by replacing it with an identical piece of equipment from the pool.
RPCs
Reusable plastic container/crate or reusable/returnable produce crate, generally used for shipment and display of fresh produce items; also the name of one of Brambles operating segments.
Total Pallet Management (TPM)
Total Pallet Management (TPM) is a comprehensive pallet management program that encompasses all facets of the customer's pallet program. Services include, but are not limited to, on or off-site sorting, dock sweeps, repair, supplemental supply, waste removal, report generation, and inventory control. TPM takes care of all aspects of the pallet program with complete accountability allowing the customer to concentrate fully on their primary business functions.
transfer hire model
A model for equipment pooling similar to the exchange model but where responsibility for the equipment transfers between manufacturers, producers, transporters and retailers as it passes through the supply-chain.
unit-load equipment
Equipment such as pallets, crates and containers used for grouping multiple units of goods (for example, boxes of grocery items) in standardised volumes and formats for ease of shipment and storage through the supply chain.
white-wood/whitewood/white wood
Term used to distinguish generic pallets of varying designs and qualities produced by numerous manufacturers from the proprietary, standardised, branded pallets offered by Brambles.