KAURI TIMBER COMPANY.

Auckland Star, Volume LII, Issue 303, 21 December 1921, Page 11

KAURI TIMBER COMPANY.

A YEAR OF PROSPERITY. CHAIRMAN TELLS OF UPS AND DOWNS. MELBOURNE, December ft. The annual merging of the Kauri Timber Company Ltd. wae held yester- ' day at the Broken Hill Chambers, 31 - Queen Street. City. ' Mr. G. Lufih, the chairman, said that the shareholders were to be heartily congratulated upon the exceptionally , successful result of the first year's operations of the company since reconstruction. He continued: DEFSICUT WIPED OUT. "How many present shareholders know that after paj'ing a 3 per cent. ' dividend for 1890 it paid no dividend whatever for nine solid years, and then started very cautiously and carefully with 21 per cent? The first five years balled up a debit to profit and loss of £0!4,OOO, and the remaining four ' years were required to wipe it out. ' •Shares with their 18/ liability could not ' then be given away, but if We paid no ! 1 dividende we made no calls, thanks > < mainly to the financial ability and in- I ! fluence of our then colleagues, Sir Fred- i < crick and Mr Robert Harper. ! < "Onr-e we started paying we never went back, and do not expect ; , to. It is fitting to recall to mind to-day ; 1 something of our past history, as a J tribute to the memory of those who are < gone, and aleo to show that the original .' shareholders in tlic enterprise well J earned the success of recent years. j t "Turning now to the accounts, with; i your memories refreshed by the min-1 '• Tites of last year's inaugural meeting,! * you will notice the surplus of_ approxi- , j mately £150,000, then mentioned by ( the chairman, represented by a eontingenoy reserve of £158,883 10/. We have aiso started a fire insurance.fund, including provision for consequential loss amounting to more than £16,000. The item of log reserve, £620, repre- c sents recoveries during the year of logs 'i> written off as miesing, and the con- h tingeupy fund, £12,660. represents the .year's surplus over estimated quantity t on realisation of bushes. The assets !c side speaks for itself, and shows a pur- I'll plus of £1,000,000 over outside liabili- j s tiee. j, "Then as to the profit and loes ac- 6 fount, there are the heavy items of in-'p come tax. £44,772. depreciation of pro- ! h perties. plant, machinery, etc., in New b Zealand, West Australia and Mcl- a bourne, including £0,000 for war loan , p depreciation, in all £29,810 8/2, and re-! pairs and maintenance to mills and b plant over the same wide area of « £25,094. j d CONTRACTS AT GOOD PRICES. p "As I said at the beginning, we have had an exceptionally prosperous year, , executing contracts taken at good . prices and realising on heavy stocks ! hung up for want of shipping facilities ' to which reference has been made in o previous reports. But everyone knows b what a change has come over trading fi conditions all over the world, and we jj

iniiet be prepared to take our share of tho unfavourable, as we have had of the favourable conditions out of which, aa the accounts chow, we have provided come hostages for the future. "We are glad to acknowledge year by year our appreciation of the services of our Auckland Board and all our officers and staff, and also our high estimation of th« ability and personality of the gentlemen who arc conducting the various other companies in which we hold large interests in Now Zealand. '"It only remains for mc now, in conclusion, to move the adoption of the directors' report and balance-sheet, and the payment of a dividend for the past half year of 4 per cent., making with the interim dividend paid in June last a total of 8 per cent, for the year." The motion was carried.