The life of a company – Vocabulary and Phrases
to start up – to create a new business
He is planning to start up a new company.
to branch out/to branch into – to extend or expand one's activities or interests in a new direction
Bookstores are branching out into new areas such as CDs and gifts.
to take over – to gain control of another company
The government took the electricity company over as part of its nationalization plan.
to close down – to close a company permanently
The factory was closed down, with the loss of 750 jobs.
to cut back (on) – to reduce something
Our expenses are far too high - we'll have to cut them back.
to go under – if a business goes under, it fails because of financial difficulties
During the recession more than 10,000 firms went under
to sell off – to sell all or part of a business
He sold the business off to pay his debts.
turnover – the amount of business done in a particular period of time, measured by the amount of money obtained from customers for goods or services that have been sold
The commercial services business unit had an annual turnover of 3.9 billion CZK.
market share – the percentage of sales in a market that a company or product has
If the two company's market shares are combined, they'll have 28% of the US market.
subsidiary – a company that is at least half-owned by another company.
Chase Manhattan Bank is a subsidiary of Chase Manhattan Corp.
board (of directors) – the group of people who have been elected to manage a company by those holding shares in the company
Bank of Boston's board of directors will vote on the merger proposal at a meeting today.
shareholder – someone who owns shares in a company
She is a 45% shareholder in the company.
multinational – a large company that has offices, factories, business activities in many different countries
He is a marketing manager with a major Dutch multinational.
SME – small or medium enterprise; fairly small companies that are usually based in one place and owned by one person or small group of people
Many SMEs often do not appreciate how the might benefit from technology.
sole-trader – someone who owns and runs a business on his or her own rather than with another person
Carvel was the typical sole-trader. He was responsible for his debts and entitled to any profits.
self-employed – having your own business rather than being employed by a company; people who work for themselves, rather than being employed by companies
One of the services we offer to the self-employed is a series of free consultations with financial and legal experts.
dividends – a part of the profits of a company for a particular period of time that is paid to shareholders for each share that they own
The company has announced a dividend of 3.5 pence per share.
shares – one of the parts into which the ownership of a company is divided
Friendly companies and banks alone hold 56% of all shares in Germany's listed companies.
to make profit – money that you gain from selling something, or from doing business in a particular period of time, after taking away costs
Nemacolin so far hasn't earned a profit but could break even this year.
profitable – producing a profit
Innovation has made Sidek one of Mexico's most profitable companies
profitability – the state of producing profit
restructuring proposals to help increase profitability
break-even point – the point in the development of a product when sales begin to exceed the investment
Cognito's break-even point is around 3,500 subscribers.
to make a loss – when a business or part of a business spends more money than it receives in a particular period of time, or loses money on a particular deal, problem, etc.
The bus company has had huge losses because of the drivers' strike
money-spinner/cash-cow – very profitable business or part of business
GM and Ford have used luxury cars as cash cows, giving those up could have a terrible impact on profitability.
budget – a detailed plan made by an organization or a government of how much it will receive as income over a particular period of time, and how much it will spend, what it will spend the money on, etc.
Each year business managers prepare a budget and suggest a series of financial targets.
to budget for sth. – to carefully plan and control how much you spend
$100 million has been budgeted for fees and expenses.
to go over budget – to overspend
In my latest project I had to bear additional costs and went over budget.
to overspend – to spend more than you can afford or more than you intended
Health authorities overspent by more than $300 million last year.
to go under budget – to underspend
During our last holiday we went under budget thanks to some unexpected discounts on flight tickets.
to underspend – to spend less than you intended or that you are allowed to
If the budget is underspent, then the amount will be lost or next year's bidet will be reduced to the lower amount.
to be on a budget – if you are on a budget, you have to do something with as little money as possible
Our self catering apartments are popular with those on a budget
economies of scale – the advantages that a big factory, shop etc. has over a smaller one because it can spread its costs over a larger number of units and therefore produce or sell things more cheaply
Toys'R'Us buys massive quantities directly from manufacturers and has gigantic store with huge economies of scale.