B.H.P. PROFIT £10.2M

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 28979, 21 August 1959, Page 25

B.H.P. PROFIT £10.2M

Record Year For

Group

(N.Z Press Association—Copyright) MELBOURNE. August 20. Directors of Broken Hill Pty. Company, Ltd., Australia’s biggest company, today announced a group profit for the year at £10,214,911. Steel production was a record. Profit rose by almost £ 1 million. It equalled 10J per cent, on funds used which were £ll million more than in the previous year. Aggregate profit was £2Bl million before providing £11,851,683 for tax and £6,200,000 for increased costs of plant replacement. 60,000 Shareholders The company now has more than 60,000 shareholders, of whom 85 per cent, are in Australia, 7 per cent, in New Zealand, and 8 per cent, in London and elsewhere. Gross working profit was £37,847,700 (compared with £35,457.819 last year). Investment income added £1,679.134 (£1.583,381), while depreciation took £11,260,240 (£10.125,015). Dividends required £4,404,252 (up by nearly £600.000). Capital Moves At the annual meeting on September 4, a resolution will be submitted to increase nominal capital from £75 million to £lOO million in £1 shares. The recent new issue of 10.616.216 shares, on which the final 10s will be payable on December 15. and shares to be issued in exchange for Australian Iron and Steel, Ltd., preference shares will leave only a relatively small proportion of the present capital unissued.

The directors say that a further early issue is not at present contemplated, but the time is opportune to provide the scope for it.