South Africa: Bottom-Line Earnings Per Share Examined

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Johannesburg — TODAY I want to try to answer a reader's question that, in various forms, I've received in the past.

The question is: "You often write about bottom-line earnings per share. When I look at company reports, I see all kinds of different earnings per share. For example, earnings per share, basic earnings per share, headline earnings per share, diluted headline earnings per share and core earnings per share. I notice that the bottom- line earnings per share you use are often different from the figure on the JSE printouts. Please tell me what exactly bottom-line earnings per share are and what the JSE uses."

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