Glossary

Alloy: Steels containing additional metallic and/or nonmetallic elements (e.g. carbon, chromium, silicon)
AOD Converter: Special converter for stainless steels
Audit: Examination of a company (division) undertaken by an independent auditor to determine whether defined standards have been observed
Average collection period: Trade accounts receivable divided by sales, multiplied by 360 (the lower the ratio, the faster the customers pay)

Capital employed: Interest-bearing invested capital
Cash flow from investing activity: Cash receipts/payments from investments/disposals
Cash flow from operating activity: Cash receipts/payments, unless caused by investing or financing activities
CAx-technology: Entirety of computer-aided design, engineering, manufacturing and control techniques
Code of Best Practice: Guidelines for corporate governance in exchange-listed German companies, presented by an independent policy commission
Coil: Steel strip wound into a roll
Conference call: Telephone conference, used, for example, for current briefings of analysts
Continuous casting: Process for producing slabs from molten steel. The steel is cast via a tundish into a cooled mold which determines the dimensions (width, thickness) of the slab
Corporate governance: Designation in international parlance for company management and company controlling focused on responsible, long-term value creation
Cost of capital: Strategically defined minimum return required by capital providers
Crude steel: Can be in liquid or solid form. In both cases it is a raw product. In the liquid condition it is used for ingot teeming, continuous casting or cast steel production

DAX: DAX®-Index (German Stock Index), compiled by Deutsche Börse, The index reflects the value development of the 30 largest and strongest-selling stocks, including ThyssenKrupp stock
Debt to cash flow ratio: Net financial payables divided by cash flow from operating activity
Dow Jones STOXX (DJ STOXX): European stock index of Stoxx Ltd.. The founders of Stoxx were deutsche Börse AG, Bourse de Paris, Schweizer Börse and publishing house Dow Jones and Company
Downstream activities: Further processing operations carried out on flat steel to add value, e.g. coating, steel service center operations, production of tailored blanks

E-business: Information sharing, communication and transactions between suppliers, manufacturers or customers via the internet
EBIT: Earnings before interest, taxes
EBITDA: Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization
EBIT margin: EBIT divided by sales (the higher the ratio, the higher the earning power)
EBITDA margin: EBITDA divided by sales (the higher the ratio, the higher the earning power)
EBT: Earnings before taxes
EBT margin: EBT divided by sales (the higher the ratio, the higher the earning power)
Economic value added (EVA): Difference between ROCE and cost of capital, multiplied by capital employed. If EVA is positive, returns are higher than the cost of capital
Emerging markets: Emerging economic regions, particularly of the Third World
E-procurement: Purchasing materials using modern electronic media, particularly the internet
Equity ratio: Ratio of balance sheet equity to balance sheet total (the higher the ratio, the lower the indebtedness)
Equity to fixed assets ratio: Stockholders’ equity divided by fixed assets, multiplied by 100
Euro zone: Economic territory of the member states of the European Currency Union

First-stage processing: Initial processing of materials in service centers (e.g. blanking, surface treatment)
Free cash flow (before dividend): Net cash from operating activities, less net cash used in investing activities
Full-service supplier: Service company offering customers all required services from one source

Gearing: Ratio of financial payables to equity capital (the lower the ratio, the higher the share of equity in the interest-bearing capital employed)
Gross income: Sales less cost of goods sold
Gross margin: Ratio of gross income to sales (the higher the ratio, the higher the earnings power from operations)

Hydroforming: Innovative forming technology for making extremely complex shapes, e.g. from tubular starting material

Internal financing strength: Ratio of net cash from operating activities to net cash used in investing activities

NSB^®: Acronym for NewSteelBody, development project at ThyssenKrupp for a complete, systematically weight-optimized steel body-in-white

Page impressions: Number of web pages accessed by users
Pick-up truck: Light commercial vehicle with a small open cargo space
Purchase accounting: US GAAP accounting method for accounting for a company acquisition

Scrap surcharge: Surcharge linked to development of scrap prices
Sheet: Flat product in thicknesses from 0.35 to less than 3.00 mm: Cold-rolled flat products of mild or high-strength steels for cold forming. Usually metallic or organic coated
Simultaneous engineering: Close technical cooperation e.g. with the auto industry
SMC: Sheet Molded Compound, fiber reinforced plastic material
Sport utility vehicle: Multi purpose vehicle, e.g. off-road vehicle
Spot trading: Buying and selling commodities for cash and immediate delivery
Spread: Range of price fluctuations
Stakeholders: Groups within society which contribute to a company’s success and place demands on the company in different ways (e.g. stockholders, banks, customers, employees, government agencies)
Steel service centers: Modern efficient processing operations offering a wide range of sheet products and service capabilities

Tailored blank: Metal blank comprising individual steel sheets of different grade, gauge and finish which are welded together and are suitable for deep drawing
ThyssenKrupp best: Program to improve efficiency in all areas of the company – best stands for “business excellence in service and technology”
Triad: Joint term for the economic areas USA, European Union and Japan

ULSAB: Acronym for Ultralight Steel Auto Body, development project of the international steel industry for light-weight solutions in auto manufacture
US GAAP: United States Generally Accepted Accounting Principles

Value reporting: Communication with the public and the financial market using value-oriented indicators
Volatility: Intensity of price fluctuations of a stock, currency or bulk commodity compared to the market development