SOUTH BRITISH INSURANCE COMPANY.

Auckland Star, Volume XLI, Issue 243, 13 October 1910, Page 6

SOUTH BRITISH INSURANCE COMPANY.

A PROFITABLE YEAS. T7Cr.RFAsS.Kn DIVIDEND. ] The shareholders at the annual meetj ing of the British lusuran.e Comi pany, l.eid this morning at, tne. ruonu of ; I the Auckland Cham her of Lonnierx', vri v~ j I presented by the directors with a Aery . pleasing report and balance-sheet, which ■have already been published in the | j " Star.' , i Mr. Thomas Peacock, chairman of direc- | tors, presided, and in moving the adopj tion of ihe report., and the statement of i account.,, -aid: —"'1 have, on behalf of j the Board, to congratulate Ihe sharei holders on the excellent results we have ; now the pleasure of placing before you.; ' It may be well, however, before dealing i with these accounts, that some explana- | tion should be given as to the reasons | for milking the extensive alterations and I additions to the Company's Auckland building that ;ire now in progress, and wliich have necessitated the holding of our annual meeting in an outside halL It was found that with the increase in our business we were getting cramped for room; not only was further accommodation required for our clerks, but • more air space was needed in the upper ! I storey of the head oll'ice. It waa tlierefore decided to throw portions of the . building which were otherwise occupied | into the offices; the basement is being made available for efficient use; higher ceilings are being secured; another storey is being added, and the whole internal arrangements re-modelled in best form, so that much more convenience and conii fort will be available to the staffs of both head office and branch. For this purpose a contract has been let for £4822. We boDe to get full possession by the middle of January, and have no doubt the shareholders will be much gratified with the building when finishedINCREASED PREMIUM REVENUE. i "'Coming now to the accounts, you I will observe that the premiums from the j three departments of our business amount to £330,5-12. This is an increase of £20.105 over the previous year. The revenue from rents and interest is £33,----204, an increase of £2647. Oα tie debit I side of the revenue account, the fire, marine a "<t accident losses amount to £197,319; this gives a loss ratio of 55.63 per cent, as against 59.65 per cent last year. The itenCagents' commissions, salaries and other expenses, £74,625, is less T>v 'fI72S. The other items of expenses are much the same as before; but the whole of these give an expense ratio of 28.17 per cent, as against 30.99 -per cent the previous year. The underwriting pro- | fit has been 13.20 per cent, as against 9.36 per -cent. The amount required to in- I sure current risks has been increased by £10.000 in consequence of the increased premiums received, and the balance carried to profit and loss account is £67,663 3/5. This, together with the amount brought forward, £39,52S 15/7, gives a totaf of £107.11)1 10/. On the debit -side we have the two half-yearly dividends, leasehold sinking funds and depreciation on furniture. The only item specially calling for attention is the reserve fund. The directors, in accordance with tie power vested in them, have placed £30,000 to that fund, bringing it. up to the handsome sum of £340.000. In strengthening this fund, they are eo-nfi.-dent of the" hearty approval of shareholders. The balance carried to the bal-ance-sheet is £43,299 0/1. INVESTMENTS. "Coming now to the iajance-sheet, you will observe on.the credit side we have landed property £222,599. This is increased Jay £14,114, being further expenditure on tie Melbourne property during the year. This property has now ■been completed and occupied; the main portion by the Company and the remainder by the tenants of our lessee. It is admitted by all who have seen thefcuildi» nc wlueh. is contiguous to out former office—that it is a handsome and creditable (Structure, while the internal arrangements are well planned, and give ample and excellent accommodation to the staff who carry on this important branch of our business. Tie final payment on this account, amounting to about £1,200, will appear in next year's accounts. Loans on mortgage have increased by £21,620; and at this point I may say that, in accordance with our usual custom, these have all been recently passed in review and found to be quite satisfactory. The landed property with buildings have also been valued, and the total valae is decidedly in excess of the sum here stated. Indeed, yon will see that a -certificate to this effect, but embracing all our assets, appears for the first time at the bottom of our statement of accounts, and the object of this is to meet the requirements of the Board of Trade regulations in accordance with tie latest English legislation applying to public companies. Again, referring to the credit side of the balance-sheet, with the exception of the item, stocks and debentures, which shows an increase of £6,G52, the various items of Municipal and Harbour Board debentures and Government securities are practically the same. It may interest you to know that the return from rents of our various Buildings and interest on other investments works out at 5.5S per cent. You will notice that our gross assets now amount to the large sum of £703,860. INCREASED DIVIDEND. "It will be noted that the directors on this occasion have recommended a slight increase in the divedend from Is 6d to Is 9d per share for the half-year. They feel justified in doing this from the prosperous condition of our business, and the fact that tie rents and interest from ■our investments have increased, so that we can still adhere to the policy hitherto pursued by the board of making our i dividends closely correspond to our earnings from that source, and allowing our underwriting profits to be applied towards the increase of our reserve funds. DEATH OF MR. B_ A. CARR. You will no-tiee in the directors' report reference is made to the death of Mr. R. A. Carr, a late member of the Board. This event was so sudden that it gave us all a great shock. That gentleman (who had more than once occupied the Cimiraransiip of the Board) was always suave and courteous in manner, and his business experience and sound judgment ever commanded the respect of the Board. In his successor, Mr. E. R. N. Russell —who now seeks re-election—we have a gentleman who is well and favourably known throughout the community. NEW ZEALAND FIRE BUSINESS. As you are aware, our business is distributed over a very wide area, and, speaking generally, each of the various countries with their branches, with few ! exceptions, contributed their share to J the good result of the year's operations. j It i≤ a matter for much regret, however, that the fire business in STew Zealand I bas-no_t £e£. ibeen. placed oa-a-fliQie> ■

I sonable and satisfactory baeis; it is unnecessary to again enlarge upon the cause which operates to prevent suck a happy consummation. UNFAIR COMPETITION. There is another matter calling for ; sonic remark. Shareholders are aware j that- fire brigade boards have been formed under- an Act of Parliament, which boards are empowered to, and do, levy J heavy contributions from the coaii panics doing lire insurance in New Zcai land, for the support of the tire brigades. But some tirnio in the Dominion arc adopting the system of insuring the j whole of the risks of their branch houses with parlies iv London, who have no representation in the Dominion. These outside underwriting bodies thus escape all the heavy charges which others here ■have to pay, while deriving the same benefit from the operations of the brigade in protecting the property thu3 insured. It i≤ evident that this is very unfair, and that etepj should be taken I to have the Act amended in sucn a manI ncr as to place lire underwriting bodies I in and out of the Dominion on the same footing. THE STAFF COMPLIMENTED. We must all recognise that the success of our company must largely depend upon the devotion to duty and efficient work rendered by the various officers at our numerous branches and agencies, and speaking generally, we have reason to t>e proud of th-e staff we possess and the manner in wMch they look after our interests. In an especial manner have we reason for congratulation that in Mr. Kirker we have a general manager who ie not only keenly alive 'to the company's interests, but by I his ability and close attention to the : numerous affairs requiring supervision, ! has contributed in no small measure to the success of the company. lam sure you are all pleased to see him in his usual place after his recent illness. The directors desire also to express their acknowledgments to the gentlemen -who act as local°directors at various important branches, who by their ripe experience and knowledge materially assist the business of the company. In this connection, we have to the loss by death of Mr. J. H. Storey, of Sydney, who to chairman of the local board there, and who had from the very start of the company been identified with rt. In conclusion, I -would express the hope tuat the shareholders will continue to aive their personal influence towards still further extending the business and prosperity of the South Bntieh Company." REPORT ADOPTED. Mr J Bafer seconded, and Mr James, in suppling the motion, referred witn pleasure to the method adopted by the company of paying dividends from the. amount invested. They occupied the premier and unique position of being the only company to follow this course. To his mind, the most pleasing feature of the 'balance-sheet was the .placing ol such a large amount to the reserve funa. They could not have this fund too stable. The report was adopted unanimously. Messrs. J. H. Upton and E. X- >•• Russell were re-elected directors, and Messrs. G. S. Kissling and W. B. A. Morrison were re-appointed auditors. The chairman, in returning thanks on ■behalf of Mr J. H. Upton, who is at present away in England, said he would .be back in Auckland in December. Mr Kussell, who was appointed to the vacancy caused by the death of Mr Carr. also thanked the shareholders for the honour they had done him. Mr John Reid, in moving a vote of ' thanks to the chairman, the directors, the general manager (Mr J. Kirker), and ; the staff of the company, paid a graceful compliment to all concerned for the manner in <w&ich they had looked after the interests of the shareholders. He felt every shareholder would 'be pleased to see the resolution passed, particularly those ' at a distance, who must be very gratified with the result of the year's working.

The motion -was carried with applause.

The Chairman thanked the shareholders fox the expression of their appreciation of the Board's services. Jtlr Kirker assured the shareholders of the devotion and loyalty of the staffs. The past year had been a trood one, and tile staffs -were all the more pleased with the result, as the period had been a difficult one. Wnether Itimes -were prosperous or not, he could assure the company of the continued loyalty of their officers.