GAS COMPANY MEETING.

Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 26, 1 February 1926, Page 8

GAS COMPANY MEETING.

A SATISFACTORY YEAR.

THE QUESTION" OF COMPETITION.

The annual meeting of the Auckland Gas Company was held to-day. There were 44 shareholders present. Mr. J. H. Upton presided. In moving the adoption of the annual report and balance-sheet, the chairman (Mr. J. H. Upton) said: We have pleasure in again meeting you with a satisfactory report of work for the past year. Taking first the credit side of the account?. The first item, sale of gas at £410.041, shows a decrease of £3812, and may at first sight suggest that we have suffered a decrease of business; that, however, is not so. but on the contrary there is a substantial increase. You will remember that last year we made a reduction of 6d in the price of gas; the consequent reduction in revenue for the eight months affected amounted to £18,000. and the city discontinued lamps which lessened theii payments by £1500; these two items together make £19,500; new business, however, made up that sum except £3812: a very satisfactory result. Residuals, fittings, etc., contribute £79.138, an increase of £5007. On the other side manufacture has cost £24,698, an increase of £809. Distribution stands at £64,897, an increase of £4294; management a decrease of £190, rates and taxes are less by £2435. The total revenue is £490,897 1/2, the expenditure £411.591 11/4, leaving a balance of £79,305 9/10 wherewith to pay the dividend of £78,282, 15/7, of which £35.710 15/4 was paid in July, leaving after taking into account last year's balance at credit of profit and loss account £38,474 6/8 to be carried forward. Capital expenditure is £90,433 18/9, a decrease of £31,985. Buildings and machinery account for £26,201, mains and services for £53,787, meters £8989 and land for £1355. The money was provided by a call producing £24,107 16/, the balance by temporary loans. A few statistics will interest you. Gas sold is 1,146.300.000 cubic feet, an increase of 47,230,000. Mains laid to date are 547 miles, an increase of 35 miles for the year. Stoves supplied to date number 26,139, an increase of 2855 for the year. The number of califonts sold increased by 4S per cent over last year's sales. Consumers number 42.641, an increase of 2272 for the year, and the number of employees is 83S. After dealing at some length with the question of taxation (reported in another column) Mr. Upton continued: Our increase in the quantity of gas sold by meter for the year is about 5 per cent, and no doubt but for the competition it would have been greater; 5 per cent increase, however, is about as much as we can economically cope with, and we are well satisfied. Five per cent annually, I may remind you, is not an absolute quantity but is relative, and of the character of compound interest. Seven years ago 5 per cent on our output was a little over 42 m.m. c.f., in these accounts it represents 55 m.m. c.f.

Now, as to light, we have lost some lighting, but our total output continues to increase. It is difficult to say precisely what proportion of gas sold is for lighting, as practically for all purposes, except public lighting, it is delivered through the same meter.?; probably it amounts to about 10 per rent of the total production. Of course we are to lose the public street lighting of the city, but that does no trouble us in the least. We have always sold gas to the city at about cost price, and the change will make no difference in our profit and loss account. The City Council in any one year never paid us more than £6590; they are now about to supply themselves at a cost of upwards of £24,000. Had the council been willing to pay us double what they did, we could have supplied them at half what the new scheme will cost. Incandescent gas light is still the best artificial light known, as the great capitals of Europe, London included, prove by using it for their streets. ■ As to power. We have never sold more than 5 per cent of our gas for this purpose, and electricity in its capacity for subdivision has an advantage. In a factory with hundreds of benches current can be easily led to every machine on every bench: it is the most flexible power known. Where subdivision is not required the advantage is not so apparent. It then becomes a matter of price, and there is still a considerable quantity of gas sold • for power. . Sale of Heat. Then comes heat, and • here ■ we are supreme. The advance in the scientific manufacture and distribution of gas, and £nt nrV the COoker S as fire, «lim. a M a PP l iances have transformed the gas industry and placed it Lfore Th S ° bd , foUndation U >™ <*i

but an improved light, his successors, the modern gas engineers, have shown that the proper function of gas works i≤ the production of heat "gas has now become fluid coal." It is easy to make a flaming show with light, gas or otherwise, but it is the little blue hot flame that boils the kettle, and pays the dividend. But this is not the place to speak of the merits of the various appliances: Are they not written in the advertisements that adorn the daily papers? One thing only I may mention. There are 175,000 inhabitants in Auckland and suburbs; in order to live happier lives they have supplied themselves with cookers in the proportion of one cooker to every seven persons, man, woman and child. But again it is said, gas shareholders are after all only a lot of capitalists. Now that is quite true. I will tell you what sort of a party they are. First and. largest is the group of employees who hold upwards of 20,000 shares, acquired entirely through the operation of their own provident association. Shareholders whose yearly dividends are over Number. £300 28 Under £300 and over £2O<l 26 £200 and over £100 122 £100 and over £50 2X2 £.V> and over £20 51S £20 and over £10 44!t £10 and over ±1 _s«> £1 60 Total shareholders 2002 Of this number 1596 receive dividends of less than one pound per week. We are 2002 in number, but while all are certainly capitalists, it would not appear to be correct to describe us as the "idle rich." I may mention broadly speaking that if our shareholders were taxed individually the tax paid would have been £1254 instead of £24.372, but that involves a serious question that does not immediately concern us to-day. When, last year, we were able to announce a reduction in the price of gas we entertained the hope that we should be able to do so again to-day, but it is not to be. The revision of our award* has resulted in a rise of wages, and we are faced with a rise in the price of coal. Together these events have frustrated our hopes, and reduction must wait.

Votes of thanks were passed to the chairman of directors and to the staff.