REFS is
a mine of invaluable information for the private investor.
Selecting shares without its help is like trying to
clap with one hand tied behind your back.
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+Activities
analysis
This panel
analyses the proportions of turnover and profits directly attributable
to the activities and regions indicated. The headings and figures
are derived from the latest published annual report.
Presentation
The figures
represent the company’s own breakdown of turnover and profit,
and are analysed by percentage. The headings are based on the
descriptions used by the company and may be abbreviated for
space reasons. No attempt has been made to standardise activity
headings across all companies, nor the grouping of different
geographical regions.
Use of
headings
Similar
companies can use markedly different bases for grouping both
business segments and geographic areas. The Companies Act leaves
the company a wide margin of discretion to define its own headings.
It is equally non-specific as to the precise definition of turnover
and profit. For example, the breakdown of profit given by a
company, whether by region or by activity, can be shown at either
operating or pre-tax profit level, and the definition of operating
profit can itself vary between companies.
Limitations
The practical
and legal requirements relating to company reporting allow companies
a wide range of presentation options for turnover and profit
analysis.
Whilst it
would be possible to apply strict rules to ensure comparability,
the practical effect would be to either exclude many companies
from showing a breakdown within Company REFS, or to require
the use of a table structure too complex to fit within the available
space. A case-by-case approach has been adopted to provide a
broad-brush indicator of how a company’s main areas of product
and regional activity inter-relate.
See definitions
and rules of analysis and presentation for more details.
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