2005 Annual Report - Touax

Glossary
Self-propelled barge
Motorized river barge.
River barge
Non-motorized metallic flat-bottomed vessel used
to transport goods by river.
BPW
Building and public works.
Transport capacity
Daily transport capacity of a vessel.
Shipping container
Metallic container based on standardized measurements,
for the transport of goods.
20’ Dry container
Standard container measuring 20’ x 8’ x 8.6’.
40’ dry container
Standard container measuring 40’ x 8’ x 8.6’.
Open top container
Open-top container for outsize loads.
Flat container
Platform container for special loads.
High cube container
Larger-sized container 40’ x 8’ x 9’ 6”.
Reefer container
Refrigerated container.
Modular building
Buildings made up of standard elements (modules)
stacked and juxtaposed on the site without alteration
at the time of installation.
EBITDA
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and
amortization. The EBITDA used by the Group is equivalent
to gross operating profit less operating provisions
(in particular provisions for bad and doubtful
debts).
Operational leasing
Unlike financial leasing, operational leasing does
not transfer to the lessee almost all the risks and
benefits inherent in the ownership of an asset.
Pool
Equipment grouping.
Pushboat
Motorized vessel used to push river barges.
ROFA
Return on fixed assets. This ratio is a performance
indicator for the Group. The ROFA is determined for
each business and is the ratio of EBITDA, less distributions
to investors, to total gross fixed assets allocated
to the business (excluding goodwill).
TEU
(twenty foot equivalent unit) measurement unit used
for containers. This unit can be physical (one forty’ is
equivalent to two twenty’ containers) or financial
(the price of a forty’ is equal to 1.6 times the price of
a twenty’ container). The measurement unit used in
this report is a physical unit (TEU), unless otherwise
indicated (financial unit – FTEU).
Asset-backed securitization
A method of financing a business whereby assets
are transferred by their owner (the vendor) to a specific
entity which in turn finances the acquisition by
issuing securities (notes) to various parties (investors).
Intermodal transport/combined transport
Transporting goods using more than one means of
transport, integrated over long distances and in the
same container.
Railcar
Rail wagon used to transport goods.
45’, 60’, 90’ and 106’ multifreight and flat wagons:
freight wagons with standardized dimensions.
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