NEW ZEALAND BREWERIES.

Auckland Star, Volume LV, Issue 168, 17 July 1924, Page 6

NEW ZEALAND BREWERIES.

DIVIDEND OP 10 PER CENT. (By Telegraph—Press Association.) WELLINGTON", Wednesday. The first annual meeting of shareholders of the New Zealand Breweries, Limited, •was held to-day. There was a fall attendance of directors and shareholders. JMr. ' A. S. Bankart, Auckland, presided. I The chairman stated that the accounts presented were for nine months. After mating provision lor the payment of interest on debentures, allowing for depreciation of mstchlnery ana plant, making the i necessary reserve for taxation and meeting all charges for management, the company had made a gross profit of £453.550 IS/6, from which had to be deducted the amount jiaid for beer duty, amounting to £3U7,!)10 ' 0/9, leaving a net profit of £5u,640 17/0 ' to be deaLt with. The directors recommended that the whole of the preliminary expenses, amounting to £14,434 19/3, be written off, that the sum of £25,000 be ' placed to reserve, that a dividend at the! rate of 10 per cent, absorbing £ 37,500, be paid, and that the balance ol £ 8705 IS/C be carried forward. The chairman said taxation through the ' Customs had been very heavy last year. ' Out of imports totalling £ 44,401,756, alco- ' holic beverages represented a value of £ 1,028,883, about 2.32 per cent of the whole. The duties paid through the Customs totalled £G,5C0,237, of which alcoholic beverages paid £1,05G,001, or an amount equal to IS.S4 per cent of ,the total Customs revenue. If the Excise duty on beer was added it would be found .that the revenue from alcoholic beverages amounted ' to over 23 per cent, of the Customs and i Excise duties, and this was voluntarily contributed by those not to be found ill the ranks of the prohibitionists. The adoption of the report -nas seconded - by Mr. Charles Speight, Dunedin, and the motion was carried. llegret was expressed at the death of the ; Hon. C. Louisson, who was one of the ', directors. Jir. Alfred Louissou had been ; appointed to the vacancy. ; The retiring directors, Messrs. Bankart, : Speight and Louisson, were re-elected.