BUSINESS AVERAGES
These are derived by dividing the estimate of the financial variable in question by the number of operating businesses for that year.
CAPITAL EXPENDITURE
Acquisition of fixed tangible assets (e.g. plant and machinery, property) and intangible assets (e.g. computer software, patents and licences) including those assets acquired under a finance lease. Also includes capital work done by employees or proprietors of the business for its own use or for rental or lease purposes.
ECONOMIC ACTIVITY SURVEY
An annual business survey which is one of the sources of the statistics presented in this publication.
EMPLOYMENT
Includes working proprietors, working partners, permanent, part-time, temporary and casual employees, and managerial and executive employees working for a business during the last pay period in June each year. Employees absent on paid or prepaid leave are included.
INCOME FROM SERVICES
Includes repair, maintenance and service income and fees, income from work done or sales made on a commission basis, delivery or installation charges which are invoiced separately to customers, advertising income and management fees/charges from related or unrelated businesses. As a result of revised international standards, income from royalties from intellectual property are also a component of estimates of income from services commencing with estimates for 1997-98. Excluded are rent, leasing and hiring income, government bounties and subsidies, income from natural resource royalties, interest income and dividends.
INDUSTRY VALUE ADDED
Represents the value added by an industry to the intermediate inputs used by that industry. From 1997-98, IVA has replaced IGP as the official measure of the contribution by industries to GDP. While IVA and IGP both represent gross output less intermediate inputs (or alternatively, the value added to intermediate inputs), introduction of new international standards for measuring economic variables has meant changes to the way in which gross output and intermediate inputs are defined, as follows.
 | Trading profit |
 | plus Operational funding from Government |
 | plus Own account capital work |
 |  | equals Capitalised wages and salaries |
 |  | plus Capitalised purchases |
 | less Capitalised purchases |
 | equals IGP |
 | plus Computer software (non capitalised) expense |
 | plus Indirect taxes (fringe benefits tax, payroll tax, land rates and taxes) |
 | plus Exploration expenditure written off |
 | less Intellectual property royalty expense |
 | equals IVA |
INTEREST COVERAGE
The number of times over that businesses can meet their interest expenses from their earnings before interest and taxation, i.e.
INVESTMENT RATE
The proportion of industry value added used to acquire capital, i.e.
NET WORTH
Total assets minus total liabilities. This is equal to the interests of shareholders or other owners in the assets of the business.
OPERATING EXPENSES
The total expenses of a business, excluding extraordinary items.
OPERATING INCOME
The total income of a business, excluding extraordinary items.
OPERATING PROFIT BEFORE TAX (OPBT)
A measure of profit before extraordinary items are bought into account and prior to the deduction of income tax and appropriations to owners (e.g. dividends paid).
OTHER EXPENSES
Includes insurance premiums, natural resources royalties expenses, as well as bad and doubtful debts and/or provision for bad and doubtful debts.
OTHER INCOME
Includes government subsidies, royalty income, dividends received, net profit (or loss) on the sale of fixed tangible assets and net profit (or loss) on foreign exchange transactions. It excludes extraordinary profits or losses.
PROFIT MARGIN
The percentage of operating income available as operating profit, i.e.
RETURN ON ASSETS
Operating profit before tax as a percentage of the total book value of assets, i.e.
RETURN ON NET WORTH
Operating profit before tax as a percentage of shareholders' funds, i.e.
SALES OF GOODS AND SERVICES
Includes sales of goods whether or not manufactured by the business and sales or transfers to related businesses.