Glossary

A

SHARE

A share is a fraction of the business. A shareholder has securities representing part of the capital of a private company. This gives it the status of partner and the benefit of certain rights: the right to dividends distributed by the company, the right to vote at general meetings, the right to oversee management (communication of documents and General Meeting).

AUCTION

Auction is a technique allowing the acquisition of movable or real estate at auction

In finance, auction is a technique of issuing bonds. The auction is thus regularly practiced by the States to ensure the placement of their Treasury bills and bonds.

The winner of all or part of the auction is called the successful bidder.

PUBLIC OFFERING

The public offering consists of the admission of a financial instrument to trading on a regulated market or, by the issue or sale of financial instruments to the public by using advertising, canvassing, or financial intermediaries.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY

The Ordinary General Meeting (OMG) is the shareholders’ meeting held at least once a year by the companies for the approval of the accounts, the distribution of dividends, the modification or renewal of the board of directors, the presentation of the Annual Report …
The Extraordinary General Assembly (AGA): exceptionally to take certain important decisions such as changes to the articles of association, capital increases, the issuance of bonds, etc.

SHAREHOLDER

The shareholder is co-owner of the company in which he has invested. He takes part in general meetings, he is informed about the profit and loss accounts, he receives a dividend.

MANAGER

An administrator is a person in charge of looking after the property of another person, or, for another example, the affairs of a corporation. An administrator can be given a mandate by another person or be appointed by decision of a court.
An administrator can thus take care, if necessary, of the estate of a deceased person when there is no will or if no executor has been appointed in the will.

TRANSACTION NOTICE

Un avis d’opéré est un document récapitulatif envoyé par une Société de Gestion et d’Intermédiation (SGI) à un client, suite à une opération réalisée pour son compte sur le marché.
L’avis d’opéré reprend l’ensemble des caractéristiques de l’instruction exécutée avec notamment, pour un ordre de bourse, le sens (achat ou vente), la quantité, le cours, la date et l’heure d’exécution, la tarification.

FREE ALLOCATION

Companies often allocate free shares and distribute shares without financial compensation. This operation is generally reserved for former shareholders.

INCREASE IN CAPITAL

When a company needs funds, it can proceed with a capital increase. It offers – generally to former shareholders – to subscribe to new securities at a price in principle lower than the last stock market price. (see subscription right)

B

PROFIT
The gross results (difference between income and expenses) of companies are taxable under corporation tax. The company decides at a General Meeting on the distribution of this net profit between the distribution of dividends to shareholders and the incorporation of reserves into equity.
RESULT
It is an image of the financial situation of the company at a given moment, the date on which the companies close their accounts. The Balance Sheet brings together the assets and liabilities of a company.
NET EARNINGS PER SHARE
This is the company’s net profit divided by the number of shares. It allows you to compare the company’s performance against other companies in the sector or against previous years.
STOCK EXCHANGE
The Stock Exchange is a financial market where one can buy or sell securities. Its operation is provided by the BRVM in Abidjan.

C

MARKET CAPITALIZATION
A valuation of a company’s stock market value obtained by multiplying the number of company shares by their stock price.
CAPITAL RAISED
Total of the sums collected by the company during its IPO or during the issuance of a bond loan.
CAPITAL SOCIAL
Ensemble des apports en espèce ou en nature effectués par les associés soit au moment de la création de l’entreprise soit au cours de la vie sociale lors des augmentations de capital. Au bilan, il représente le total de la valeur nominale de toutes les actions émises.
KEY FIGURES
The “key figures” allow a quick appreciation of the health of the business without having to undertake a long and sometimes daunting review of all the accounts presented. These include changes in turnover, profit and investments. Large listed companies are becoming accustomed to commenting on these “key figures” in their annual reports, which thus become more accessible.
INCOME STATEMENT
The income statement describes the flow of transactions during the financial year that result in a profit or loss.
STOCK EXCHANGE PRICE
It is the price of a share at a given moment, determined by the law of supply and demand in a stock market.
CAPITAL EXCHANGED
Total amounts of transactions carried out.
EQUITY
Ensemble comprenant le capital social, les primes d’émission d’actions, les réserves, le report à nouveau, les subventions d’investissement et les provisions réglementées. Les capitaux propres constituent sur le plan juridique la garantie des tiers.
TURNOVER
Sum of sales of goods, services and manufactured products as well as sales of intermediate products and study work. Turnover measures the activity of the company.
ISIN CODE
The International Securities Identification Number is a worldwide standard for identifying financial securities. It allows the unambiguous identification of the security to be traded. It is an alphanumeric code, the first two letters of which indicate the place of quotation.
COUPON
It is the interest paid annually to the holder of a bond.
ECONOMIC GROWTH
This is the percentage change in Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

D

DIVIDEND
It is the portion of a company’s net profit distributed to the shareholder. A tax credit is attached to the dividend.
RIGHT OFFERING
In case of a right offering, a subscription right is detached from the old share. With ‘n’ rights, the former shareholder can acquire one or more new shares at the price set in accordance with the terms and conditions of the capital increase.
RIGHT OF ALLOCATION
When new shares are allocated free of charge, the former shareholder detaches one allocation right from each of the shares he or she holds. With ‘n’ rights, the former shareholder obtains one or more free shares.
DROIT DE VOTE
Each ordinary share carries one voting right. This gives the possibility to vote at the shareholders’ meetings. If the articles of association so stipulate, the voting right can be doubled for those who have held their shares for at least two years. Priority shares and investment certificates do not have voting rights.

F

MUTUAL FUND
The Mutual Fund is a portfolio of securities managed by a professional and offered by a financial institution or bank. The subscriber owns a share of this portfolio.
FLOATING
The portion of a company’s capital held by the public in a stock market.
MARKET SHEET
Throughout a trading session, orders for the same stock are filed in what is called a “market sheet”. This table has two columns, Buy and Sell. Each new incoming order is ranked in the corresponding column using the price rule, and then with equal limits the time rule. The best bids and offers then appear at the top of the columns.

I

INDICE
Indices measure the performance of a market. Stock market indices are representative of a group of securities (BRVM with the BRVM 10 composite indices).
INVESTMENTS
Acquisition of factories, capital goods…with a view to producing goods and generating future profits.
FINANCIAL INTERMEDIARY
Refers to the professionals to whom investors turn. These intermediaries carry out different jobs depending on their status (negotiator, custodian, collector, transmitter, etc.)

L

LIQUIDITY
A characteristic of a financial product or market where buying or selling can be done more quickly without causing too much variation from the last trade price.

M

LESS VALUE
This is the loss made on the disposal of a security.
CAPITALIZATION MULTIPLE
This is the ratio of the stock market price to the earnings per share. It is also called PER (Price Earning Ratio).

N

TRADERS
They are financial intermediaries. They execute orders received from their clients, from order-collecting institutions or from order transmitters.

O

BOND
A bond is an acknowledgement of debt. The state, public authorities and large companies issue bonds. The borrower undertakes to pay annual interest upon issue.
STOCK EXCHANGE ORDER
To buy or sell securities on the markets, it is necessary to place an order which must include general information such as the direction of the operation (purchase or sale), the name of the security to be acquired, the quantity of securities, an indication of the validity, i.e. the day on which the unexecuted order must be withdrawn from the market
UCITS

Undertakings for the Collective Investment in Transferable Securities. The term covers SICAVs and FCPs. In both cases, the investor holds a share of the securities managed by the organisation.

P

PLUS-VALUE
This is the profit obtained on the sale of a security.

R

ANNUAL REPORT
A listed company must publish an annual report to inform its shareholders. The annual report always includes a financial section consisting of a balance sheet, an income statement and an appendix giving the key figures.
NET RESULT
Result equal to the sum of the current result before tax and the exceptional result, after deduction of employee profit-sharing and income tax.
YIELD
Net yield: ratio of net dividend to share price. Gross yield: ratio of total dividend (including tax credit) to share price.

S

TRADING SESSION
The trading session is the period of time defined to carry out transactions (purchase or sale of securities) on a stock exchange. At BRVM, the trading session lasts from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., every working day.
SICAV
It is a company with legal personality whose sole purpose is to manage a portfolio of securities on behalf of its shareholders, who can subscribe to shares, or be reimbursed for the shares they have subscribed to, each day, according to the net asset value of the portfolio.
ACTIVITY AREA
The field of economic activity in which a company is located (e.g. distribution, food, construction) has a decisive influence on the evolution of the company’s share price, which is why market professionals determine sectors of activity to create reference tools.

T

INTEREST RATES
The cost of credit expressed as a percentage of the value of a debt.
TRANSACTION
A trade is the result of the matching and execution of a buy or sell order with compatible opposite orders. A single order may give rise to several transactions in the case of split execution. The transactions characterise the activity of a market over a given period.

V

ADDED VALUE
Wealth created by the company during a financial year. It is equal to the difference between production and intermediate consumption.
VALIDITY OF A STOCK EXCHANGE ORDER
The validity criteria of a stock market order can be defined as follows:
  • Day validity means that the order is valid only for the current day. This is the default validity if no indication is given by the originator.
  • Date validity means that the order is valid until a specific date. This date must not exceed the maximum term set by the financial intermediary.
  • A Revocation means that the order is valid until the maximum term set by the financial intermediary.
VOLUME OF TRANSACTIONS
Number of shares traded multiplied by their price.
NOMINAL VALUE
It is the portion of the company’s initial borrowing represented by a bond. For a share, it is the fraction of the share capital.
VOLATILITY
It is the amplitude of variation of a share, a fund, an index or a market over a given period.
X