Extraordinary items are increases or decreases in a company's revenue caused by factors uncommon in the company's operations.
Generally speaking, extraordinary items are those which are expected not to recur. As such they are usually included separately from most items in a company's income statement, as the profit or loss created by the event is not an accurate reflection of the company's ongoing earnings.
Example
A freak heatwave sweeps through northern Canada, melting all of a world-famous ice-sculpture company's recently-completed orders. The loss created by this event will be recorded an extraordinary item on the company's balance sheet, since heat waves virtually never occur in their locale.
