EBITDA, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, is a measure of a company's overall financial performance and is used as an alternative to net income in some circumstances.
Gross income is referred to as turn over, whereas generally net income is turnover less operating expenses. The use of the term EBITDA is widely accepted method of reporting financial performance (profit or loss), in an unaudited manner.
The receipts from customers, that you have highlighted is the gross income received during the reporting period, however it does not factor in 'accounts receivable' which is the amount of money still owed for sales / deliveries already made. Also, the cost of production may include a stockpile of product that is yet to be shipped (for a retail vendor this would be referred to as stock on hand, and can be where a lot of company value is stored).
Ideally, for a high volume business such as an iron ore miner, they want a good balance of cash received, cash yet to be received, stock on hand (stockpiled ready for shipment or sale) for business continuity. So that, if there is breakdown in production the company still has the ability to generate income consistently across the financial year.
Please note, this is a very simplistic explanation, and financial performance for large entities is far more complex, particularly for publicly listed companies. Hopefully this explanation helps and does not come across in a way that is not intended.
Regards, Stoc.
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