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Glossary
Financial terms and company-specific terms
FINANCIAL TERMS
Capital employed
This encompasses property, plant and equipment (including intangible assets) and net working capital.
Commercial paper program (CP program)
Contractual framework or standard documentation for the issue of short-term bonds.
Cost of capital
Minimum required return on securities, calculated based on market values as the weighted average cost of debt and equity capital.
Credit facilities
Lines of credit provided by banks that can be tapped into as required. These are agreed lines of credit with different maturities that serve in part as available liquidity reserves, while “umbrella credit lines” are available in particular to foreign subsidiaries as financing for working capital and as a guarantee reserve.
Debt issuance program
Contractual framework or standard documentation for the issue of bonds. Provides a high degree of flexibility in issuing activity.
Derivative financial instruments (derivatives)
Derivatives are financial instruments for which the price or value depends on the future prices of other goods, assets or benchmarks (interest rates, indices). These are contracts within which the parties agree to buy, sell or swap assets in the future at certain conditions, or to provide alternative payment of the notional amount.
Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT)
Operating profit before the subtraction of interest and tax.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA)
Operating profit before the subtraction of interest, tax, depreciation and amortization.
Equity method
Process of treating subsidiaries that are to be included in the consolidated financial statements with all assets and liabilities on a basis other than as part of full consolidation. The investment book value of the investment is adjusted to reflect the development of the pro rata share of equity.
Equity ratio
Financial ratio based on the balance sheet structure: Proportion of total assets equal to equity, expressed as a percentage.
Gearing
Key financial performance indicator that provides a structural indicator of the ratio of net financial debt to equity, expressed as a percentage.
Gross capital expenditure
Total investments made in property, plant and equipment and assets, regardless of financing method.
Interest-free loan
A loan from the Federal Government that is to be repaid but is not subject to interest. These emerge from financial participation of the German Federal Government in investments and in the expansion and replacement of track paths.
International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS)
Internationally recognized accounting standard. The term IFRS is used to refer to the global language for business affairs approved by the International Accounting Standards Board in 2002. Standards approved prior to this are still cited as International Accounting Standards (IAS).
Investment grants
Financial participation of third parties in specific investment projects without future repayment requirements.
Net capital expenditure
Gross capital expenditure minus third party investment grants; for example, for infrastructure investments.
Net financial debt
The total of interest-bearing external liabilities and finance lease liabilities as well as cash and cash equivalents and interest-bearing external receivables.
Operating leases
Off-balance-sheet financial instruments: Leased or rented assets.
Operating profit after interest
Results indicator that also takes into account costs of financing in order to be able to assess earnings in the long term (mainly important in the Infrastructure lines of business). In contrast to EBIT, the net operating interest income is also taken into account when calculating this figure.
Plan assets
Assets netted with gross pension obligations.
Rating
An assessment of creditworthiness issued by rating agencies that affects the refinancing options available to a company and the associated costs.
Redemption coverage
Key financial performance indicator showing the ratio between ongoing financial power and the financial obligations of the company (adjusted net financial debt).
Return on capital employed (ROCE)
Key ratio used for value-oriented management. Ratio of (adjusted) EBIT to capital employed, expressed as a percentage.
Scope of consolidation
The subsidiaries within a group that are included in the consolidated financial statements.
Swap
A swap is a financial transaction based on the exchange of future payment flows. This enables the targeted hedging of financial risks (interest, currency risks, raw materials).
COMPANY-SPECIFIC TERMS
Block train transport
A freight transport service for transporting freight cars linked to form an entire train.
Bus kilometer (buskm)
One bus kilometer is equivalent to the route traveled by a bus over a distance of one kilometer.
Combined transport
The integrated transportation of containers or entire trucks both by road and by rail.
Contract logistics
The bundling of a variety of different logistics activities. The service provider not only organizes transport services, but is also responsible for additional services along the supply chain.
Existing network
The existing rail network, which is the backbone of the rail infrastructure.
Freight carrier
A company that is used for the transportation of goods.
Integrated Group structure
Train operating company that is also the rail infrastructure operator.
Intermodal competition
Competition among different modes of transport; for example, between rail and air transport.
Interoperability (multisystem capability)
The ability of rolling stock to adapt to different technical standards (e.g. track widths or power systems) and to operate on the varying rail networks in different countries with as little delay as possible.
Intramodal competition
Competition within a mode of transport; for example, within the rail sector.
Network access
Rail infrastructure companies provide their rail networks for a fee to train operating companies for train runs.
Ordering organization
Generally German Federal states, which, as transport authorities, are responsible for ordering local rail passenger transport services from transport companies.
Passenger kilometers (pkm)
Unit of measurement for volume sold in passenger transport services: The product of the number of passengers transported and the mean journey distance.
Requirement plan
New line construction and line expansion set out in the Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan.
Single-car transport
A freight transport service for the haulage of single freight cars that are attached to a train with other freight cars. The individual freight cars of such trains can have different departure and destination stations.
Station pricing system
Transparent, non-discriminatory pricing system for the use of passenger stations. The specific station price depends on the level of performance and equipment of each station.
Supply chain
The supply chain of a product encompasses all activities that generate value, including the production and sales stages, beginning with raw materials and continuing to the finished product.
Ton kilometers (tkm)
Unit of measurement for volume sold in freight transport: Product of the freight carried (in tons) and the distance traveled (kilometers).
Traction
Propulsion for the operation of trains. Depending on energy source, drive and transmission, a differentiation is made between electric, diesel-electric and diesel-hydraulic traction, among other things. Traction units that have both electric and diesel traction are also known as hybrid vehicles.
Train kilometer (trainkm)
One train kilometer is equivalent to the route traveled by a train over a distance of one kilometer.
Train-path
Route traveled by a train as set out in the timetable.
Train-path kilometers (train-path km)
See volume sold.
Train-path pricing system (TPS)
This provides transparent, non-discriminatory regulation for the prices for use of the rail network by internal and external customers taking into account the individual characteristics of the infrastructure used.
Transport contract
A contract between an ordering organization and a train operating company for the provision of passenger transport services.
Twenty foot equivalent unit (TEU)
Standardized container unit with a length of 20 feet (1 foot = 30 cm).
Volume produced
Distance travelled by train operating companies on the rail network. Unit of measurement: train-path kilometers (train-path km).
Volume sold
Central key performance indicator used to measure services provided in passenger and freight transport. Unit of measurement: passenger kilometers (pkm), ton kilometers (tkm).
Last modified: 21.03.2013
