Dividend base
The measure a dividend policy applies its formula to: profit under a named accounting standard, cash flow or another metric.
How to read the number
Knowing the base tells a reader what to watch: with a cash-flow base it is the capital budget, with a profit base it is the one-off items in the accounts.
When the metric lies
The base is usually adjusted — revaluations and currency differences are stripped out. A calculation from headline profit without those adjustments yields a different sum.
Also known as: dividend base