Financial lexicon

Earnings per share

Net profit divided by the number of securities comprising the capital. It is primarily used to calculate the PER (price/earnings ratio), and discover the amount of earnings for each share. This provides a means of comparing the earnings over several years when the number of shares has been changed.

Euro

Single currency of 11 EU Member States (Germany, Austria, Belgium, Spain, Finland, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal). 1 Euro is worth 40,3399 Belgian Francs.

Euro.NM. (new market)

Network of European high potential securities markets , currently comprising five exchanges: the Nouveau Marché Paris, the Euro.NM Belgium, the Neuer Market in Frankfurt and the NMAX in Amsterdam and the Nuovo Mercato.

Euroland

Term to used to describe the Euro zone countries.

Exchange traded fund

An exchange traded fund or ETF is a fund listed on the Stock Exchange which duplicates an index. It allows an investor to get an exposure to an index without having to buy a share in every company included in the index.

Exercice of an option or a warrant

A holder's decision to take up an option to buy.

Exercise date

Date when a buyer can excercise an option.

Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM)

Exceptional meeting of shareholders designed to approve proposals for amending articles of association, capital increases or reductions, agreeing to mergers or the break-up of a company … . Decisions are adopted by a two-thirds majority.