THE NEW ZEALAND CROWN'S PEOSPERITY.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXII, Issue 21, 25 January 1901, Page 3

THE NEW ZEALAND CROWN'S PEOSPERITY.

ME. DAW GETS £100 BONUS.

In presiding over the fourth, annual general meeting of the New Zealand Crown Mines, held in London last week, Sir Westby Perceval had a pleasant task, for he was not only able to ask the consent of the shareholders to a dividend of 1/ per share being distributed, but was able to show that in every way the company's prospects were "good as gold." Touching first upon the balance-sheet, Sir Westby said: "At last year's meeting you approved of the recommendation of the directors to write off as quickly as possible the development account, and that account was reduced on that occasion by £13,439, leaving a sum of £5574 standing to debit. We. now recommend that this debit of £5574 should be written off, as well as £2215, the amount expended on development work during the year, making in all £7789; so that in future, we shall have no development account at all, and all charg-.es formerly made to that account will now be debited to mining expenses and paid for out of profits. We have also written off £15,120, being 10 per cent, from the machinery account, and after payment of the proposed dividend of 5 per cent, we carry forward £ 5504 to next year. With many mining companies some of the expenditure on development work is charged to capital, and new plant is treated in the same way. This, of course, permits of the greater part of the profits of the year being distributed in the form of dividends, whereas a considerable part of our profits for the year have been devoted to expenditure, which is often charged to capital. Some of o\tr New Zealand shareholders have written* us a letter, asking us to distribute more of the profits we have earned in the form of increased dividends, and. urging us to borrow the money we require for increasing the plant and carrying on permanent development works. The directors cannot recommend the shareholders either to borrow or increase the capital. We prefer to continue to improve the value and earning power of the mine by devoting1 some of the profits earned each year in extending the plant and development, rather than bring forward any borrowing scheme or proposal for increasing the capital. The system of paying each year out of profits, for the whole cost of the development work incurred during the year is, in our opinion, the prudent course for such a company as ours to follow, and we believe this policy will meet with the approval of the shareholders who must eventually benefit, as they are annually improving the value and dividend-paying power of their property. It is true we have earned a larger dividend than we recommend should be paid, and after the amount devoted to writing off we have still a balance in hand sufficient to pay another 2J per cent. The reason we do not recommend the distribution of this is that we have under consideration a proposal of the mine manager to increase the million power and carry out other extensions of the reduction works, which, if done, will ab"

sorb a considerable sum of money, whereas the increased returns from the enlarged plant will only, to a very. small extent, affect the receipts for the current year; perhaps it-may.not affect them at all."

Sir Westby proceeded to tell the tale of the recent developments at the mine, which, as New Zealanders are aware, have been of a very favourable character. Concerning the addition of plant and machinery, he said Mr. .Daw recommended the provision of 20 , additional stamps, the extension of the mill, and also the erection of an engine to work the entire battery during any period of drought when. j the mill cannot be run by the. water power now used. This extension of the mill will necessitate an addition to the cyanide plant, and altogether the outlay involved is considerable. According to the estimated expenditure, even if the present returns arß only maintained, the company will be able to defray the entire cost out of cash in hand, without borrowing or encroaching to any considerable extent on the profits of the ensuing year. The Board, however, deems it prudent not to incur the proposed outlay until every reasonable precaution has been taken to verify Mr. Daw's favourable reports on the condition of the mine, and his estimates of the amount of payable stone exposed by the recent development. In conclusion, Sir Westby expressed the Board's appreciation of Mr Daw's zeal and ability, and stated that the directors proposed to signal their pleasure by presenting- him with, a! bonus of £100.

The meeting agreed to the adoption' of the report and accounts nem. con.