Translation difference
The difference arising when a foreign subsidiary's accounts are translated into the group's presentation currency. It accumulates in equity, not in profit.
How to read the number
Group equity can move without a single transaction — purely through the rate at which the subsidiaries' assets were translated.
When the metric lies
Easy to confuse with transaction exchange differences: those run through profit, this one bypasses it through other comprehensive income.
Also known as: currency translation reserve