Company News HUDDART PARKER Big Fall In Profit

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28541, 21 March 1958, Page 15

Company News HUDDART PARKER Big Fall In Profit

i A large increase in depreciation • charges caused consolidated profit • of Huddart Parker, Ltd., steamship and colliery owner, to fall £70,077, or 27.3 per cent., to ; £187,049 for the year ended Deci ember 31. L Provision for depreciation was I £100,367 higher at £349,425. Tax was reduced by £7358 to £75,969. i Revenue from shipping opera- - tions, however, showed consider- - able improvement on the previous ’ year, directors state. This was e mainly a result of the company’s ships being available again for e service after overhaul and to t fewer interruptions to sailing e schedules, they say. Profit is equal to an earning : rate of 20.9 per cent, on ordinary capital, after allowing for preference charges. This compares with the previous year’s earning rate of 30.3 per cent. Ordinary dividend is held at 14 per cent, and requires an adequately covered £136.967. Preference, 6 per cent., takes £30,000. Transfer to reserves is down sharply from £135,012 to £24.662 Profit on trading (after depre- | ciation) fell £62.659 to £134.865. while income invest-

ment was £12.978 lower at £133.501. A surplus of £43.641 was made from the sale of fixed assets, against £552 in the pre-

vious year. Current assets at December 31 were £1.131,551, compared with current liabilities of £2,344,783. Overdraft was more than doubled from £427,680 to £938,409.

Silknit.—Silknit (New Zealand), Ltd., made a net profit of £17,384 in the year ended December 31, 1957. This was an increase of £4267 over the previous year’s profit. The directors’ report contains no dividend recommendation. —(P.A.)

Imperial Chemical Industries have announced a final call of 8s 4d a share on contributing shares. The call is payable on April I. (P.A.)