The short answer
EBITDA is earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation: operating profit with the non-cash charges for depreciation, write-downs and provisions added back. Belgian annual accounts have no EBITDA line, but you can calculate it from every filed model with one sum: operating profit (code 9901) plus depreciation and write-downs on fixed assets (630), write-downs on stocks and trade debtors (631/4) and provisions for liabilities and charges (635/8). EBITDA margin is EBITDA divided by turnover (code 70). That is where small companies get difficult: on the micro and abbreviated models turnover is optional, so many filings only show gross margin (9900). Then compare EBITDA in euros across years, or as a share of gross margin, never against another company's turnover-based margin.
The codes below come from the National Bank's standard models for companies, the National Bank's ratio definitions and Technical Note 2017/01 of the Belgian Accounting Standards Commission (CBN), all read on 1 October 2026. This is general information, not accounting or financial advice.
What EBITDA measures
EBITDA shows what a company earns from its operations before three things that reflect choices rather than performance: financing (interest), tax, and how asset costs are spread over time (depreciation and write-downs). That makes it useful for comparing companies with different debt levels or asset ages. It is not an accounting standard: the CBN notes that EBIT and EBITDA are not defined uniformly in European practice. Whenever you quote an EBITDA figure, know which formula sits behind it.
The formula in Belgian codes
The practical formula works on all three models (full, abbreviated and micro):
EBITDA = 9901 + 630 + 631/4 + 635/8
Code | Line in the income statement | Full model | Abbreviated and micro | Role |
|---|---|---|---|---|
70 | Turnover | Standard line | Optional | Denominator of the EBITDA margin |
9900 | Gross margin | Not a line | Mandatory | Fallback denominator |
9901 | Operating profit (loss) | Yes | Yes | Starting point |
630 | Depreciation and write-downs on formation expenses and fixed assets | Yes | Yes | Add back |
631/4 | Write-downs on stocks, contracts in progress and trade debtors | Yes | Yes | Add back, can be negative |
635/8 | Provisions for liabilities and charges | Yes | Yes | Add back, can be negative |
76A | Non-recurring operating income | Yes | Yes, as "of which" under gross margin | Subtract for recurring EBITDA |
66A | Non-recurring operating charges | Yes | Yes | Add back for recurring EBITDA |
The National Bank uses the same building blocks in its sector statistics: its gross sales margin ratio (brutoverkoopmarge) is 9901 minus 76A plus 66A plus 630, 631/4 and 635/8, divided by turnover, and it is only calculated when turnover is filed.
How to calculate it, step by step
Get the filing from the National Bank's Consult tool; how to look up Belgian annual accounts shows where.
Check the model (VOL, VKT or MIC on every page). It decides whether turnover is there.
Take operating profit (9901) and add 630, 631/4 and 635/8. Watch the signs: a write-back appears as a negative amount and lowers EBITDA.
Decide on non-recurring items. For a recurring figure, subtract 76A and add 66A, so a one-off gain on selling a building does not flatter the year.
Repeat for at least three years with the same formula. How to read Belgian annual accounts explains why the latest year can be old.
The formal definition: CBN Technical Note 2017/01
The CBN published a stricter definition on 31 May 2017, replacing its 2010 note after non-recurring items replaced exceptional items in the Belgian schemes. It starts from profit before taxes (9903), removes financial income (750, 751, 752/9), adds back debt and other financial charges (650, 652/9) and corrects for other non-recurring financial income and charges (769, 668) to reach EBIT. For EBITDA it adds back 630, 631/4, non-recurring depreciation (660) and write-downs on current and financial fixed assets (651, 661), and subtracts write-backs (760, 761).
The CBN version does not add back provisions (635/8), and it needs detailed codes that only the full model contains; the CBN itself says EBIT cannot be calculated from an abbreviated income statement. For most Belgian companies the practical formula is the only one available. For full-model filers, say which one you used.
EBITDA vs gross margin, EBIT and net profit
Each measure sits one step lower in the income statement; the examples use the company below.
Measure | Belgian code | What has been deducted | Example | % of turnover |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Gross margin | 9900 | Purchases of goods and services | €1,850,000 | 40.2% |
EBITDA | 9901 + 630 + 631/4 + 635/8 | Also staff and other operating costs | €610,000 | 13.3% |
EBIT | 9901, the closest match according to the CBN | Also depreciation, write-downs, provisions | €405,000 | 8.8% |
Net profit | 9904 | Also financial result and taxes | €279,000 | 6.1% |
Gross margin shows the value a company adds to what it buys; EBITDA whether that value covers people and running costs; EBIT and net profit what remains after asset wear, the bank and tax. More on the first line in gross margin in Belgian annual accounts.
A worked example
An illustrative Kortrijk installation company with 30 staff files the abbreviated model and discloses its turnover voluntarily:
Line | Code | Amount |
|---|---|---|
Turnover | 70 | €4,600,000 |
Gross margin | 9900 | €1,850,000 |
of which non-recurring operating income (gain on selling a van) | 76A | €30,000 |
Remuneration, social security and pensions | 62 | €1,200,000 |
Depreciation and write-downs on fixed assets | 630 | €180,000 |
Write-downs on stocks and trade debtors | 631/4 | €15,000 |
Provisions for liabilities and charges | 635/8 | €10,000 |
Other operating charges | 640/8 | €40,000 |
Operating profit | 9901 | €405,000 |
Profit before taxes (financial income €2,000, charges €35,000) | 9903 | €372,000 |
Profit for the year (after €93,000 taxes) | 9904 | €279,000 |
EBITDA: 405,000 + 180,000 + 15,000 + 10,000 = 610,000 euros.
Recurring EBITDA: 610,000 minus the 30,000 euro gain on the van = 580,000 euros.
EBITDA margin: 610,000 / 4,600,000 = 13.3%, or 12.6% on the recurring figure.
Without turnover: 610,000 / 1,850,000 = 33.0% of gross margin.
EBITDA margin, and why small filers make it harder
EBITDA margin is EBITDA divided by turnover, times 100. It lets you compare a 5 million and a 50 million euro company in the same sector, but only if turnover is filed.
Since financial years starting on 1 January 2024, a company is small if it exceeds no more than one of 50 FTE, 11,250,000 euros turnover and 6,000,000 euros balance sheet total, and micro at 10 FTE, 900,000 euros and 450,000 euros. Small companies file the abbreviated model, micro companies the micro model. On both, turnover and purchases (60/61) are marked optional and the income statement opens with gross margin. The Belgian SME definitions explain the thresholds. Without turnover you can still:
Calculate EBITDA in euros. All four lines are on every model.
Express EBITDA as a share of gross margin. Compare it only within the same activity, because a wholesaler and a consultancy have very different gross margins.
Read the trend. EBITDA rising for three years says more than one margin.
Keep the bases apart. 33% of gross margin and a 13% EBITDA margin can describe the same company.
The limits of EBITDA
It is not cash. It ignores money tied up in stock and unpaid invoices, and the cash spent replacing machines and vehicles.
It ignores debt. A strong EBITDA does not guarantee interest and repayments get paid. Check equity and liquidity too; the financial health check covers the ratios.
It favours buying over renting. Depreciation is added back; rent and operating lease payments, booked under services and other goods, are not.
Owner pay distorts small companies. A salary, a management fee through the manager's own company or very little pay changes EBITDA without changing the business.
It is old. Accounts are filed up to seven months after year end.
In a valuation or acquisition EBITDA is one input among many; due diligence on a Belgian company covers the other checks.
Seeing EBITDA for many companies at once
One company by hand takes five minutes; a list of prospects or suppliers does not. Bizzy shows, on each Belgian legal entity's Financials tab, four years of figures taken from the accounts filed with the National Bank: revenue where it is filed, gross margin, EBITDA and EBIT, net profit, each as an amount and a percentage, with the filed PDF per year to check the source lines. You can start for free; the plans are on the pricing page.
Close relatives of EBITDA: cash flow from the accounts and profitability ratios.
Frequently asked questions
Is EBITDA a line in Belgian annual accounts? No. None of the standard models has an EBITDA line. You calculate it, most simply as operating profit (9901) plus 630, 631/4 and 635/8.
Is EBIT the same as operating profit? Close. The CBN calls code 9901 the closest match, but its formal EBIT corrects profit before taxes for financial items, which only the full model allows.
Can I calculate EBITDA margin for a micro company? Only if it chose to disclose turnover. Otherwise calculate EBITDA in euros and compare it with gross margin (9900) or with the same company's earlier years.
What is a good EBITDA margin? There is no general threshold. Compare with companies in the same activity code, over several years.
Photo: the MAS museum in Antwerp, Zinneke, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons