B.H.P. Group Lifts Profit To £15.1m

Press, Volume C, Issue 29602, 26 August 1961, Page 17

B.H.P. Group Lifts Profit To £15.1m

The Brokerf Hill Proprietary Company, Ltd., and its subsidiaries lifted consolidated net profit to £15,137,117 in the year to May 31 from £13.791,633 the year before. This result was reached after providing £22,001,321 for depreciation (against £18,680,862 the year before) and taxation of £15.743.933. Expenditure on freeholds, leaseholds. plant and machinery took £39,713,141. The year before it took £27,777,249. Group ingot production was £229,938 higher at £3.736,281. Gross working profit was £49,961.913. against £41.923.938 last year. Dividends took £6.058.952 compared with £5 535.887 in I last year’s balance sheet. This figure takes in £88,370 paid to minority interests in certain subsidiary companies. Appropriation for mining plant and development rose to £4,650,000 from £3,750,000 the year before. This year £3.954,648 was transferred to the reserve agiainst £3,544,483 last year. Carry-forward is £1,605,855 higher at £7,107,957. In the parent company’s accounts fixed assets value was increased by £34,605,260 and investments in subsidiaries and o ( her companies by £48,261.634. Capitalised From this, £32,198,611 was capitalised in the bonus issue and the balance transferred to the assets revaluation reserve. Fixed assets of Australian Iron and Steel and one other subsidiary were also revalued and, after allowing for amounts capitalised, contributed £8,822.217 to assets revaluation reserve which stands in the consolidated accounts at £59,490,500. Total fixed assets in the group accounts are now shown at £200,688.705 against £98,371.980 last year, while the value of investments has been increased from £1,653,198 to £5,421,278. The consolidated balancesheet shows reserves at £41,473,387 against £34,110,775 last year, while assets revaluation reserve is up from £379,563 to £59,490,500. Long-term liabilities are up from £21,104,478 to £22,991,439 and bank over-

drafts amount to £1,167.264 against £202.864 last year. Among current assets, stocks have been increased from . £35,138,993 to £41.830.070. Trade debtors amount to £12.476.864 and holdings of Government stock and bonds have been reduced from £38.153.465 to £26.578.166. The sum of £4,013,734 is held in cash. Exports during the year under review amounted to 133.900 tons of pig iron and 65,763 tons of steel products.