What are ‘Earnings’ for EPS in IAS 33?

Earnings

For the purpose of calculating basic earnings per share under IAS 33, earnings is the net profit after deducting:

  • Tax
  • Non-Controlling Interest (Minority Interest)

Non-controlling interest

So earnings is the net profit after tax minus any minority interest. So how do we adjust the minority interest out of the EPS calculations? Simply take the net profit after tax and subtract the profit attributable to the non-controlling interest to arrive at the basic earnings figure you need.

Net Profit after tax XXX

Minus: NCI profit (XXX)

Basic earnings XXX

Discontinued operations

If the company has a discontinued operations, these results should be ignored for the year. So, say if there is a loss on discontinued operations, we’ll add this back to the basic earnings result when calculating the EPS figure.

Make sure you remember though, only do this for discontinued operations. Any losses attributable to continuing operations are kept in the EPS figure, and if the company is lossmaking overall, this should be presented as a negative EPS figure.