Review Of Week’s Stock Exchange Transactions

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30711, 29 March 1965, Page 15

Review Of Week’s Stock Exchange Transactions

Determining the trend of the share market at the moment finds investors groping their way warily through the mists of post-bonus disenchantment along a path that seems to have no signposts.

New Zealand shares started the week just in balance on a quiet market, improved a little mid-week, but began losing ground again on Thursday and drifted to an easier close.

Australian shares also moved uncertainly through the week mirroring the trends on the home market with an unsteady start, little headway during the five davs’ trading and a fall at the close.

However, on the week the market for both New Zealand and Australian shares was easier and down on the week before.

New Zealand falls just shaded rises, but in the overseas list falls outnumbered rises two to one.

Banks lost ground again with declines by Bank of N.S.W.. Australian and New Zealand registers and Commercial Bank of Australia. Breweries were also easier. Dominion Breweries rose to ISs 4d, but gained only Id on the week, while Tui added 3d to 10s 3d. Frozen Meat Resurgence of interest in frozen meat pushed this section of the market up a little. Canterbury Frozen Meat made the best gain with a 9d rise to 36s 9d, while Gear 255. New Zealand Refrigerating 16s 3d, and Southland Frozen Meat 21s 6d, each rose 3d. National made the only advance among insurances with a 3d lift to 26s 3d. while New Zealand and South British slipped back. Wright Stephenson sold Is up at 32s 6d ex one-for-seven bonus, brightening the loan and agency section. Woollens and textiles held in balance. Bonds rase Is to 225, making a gain of Is 3d in two weeks. Tekau gained Is to 23s and Feltex Australia rose further to 7s 2d. There were only just more rises than falls by New Zealand industrials and retailers, but the same section of the Australian list was weak.

Best gains in the New Zealand miscellaneous list were made by Dunlop, ex bonus and share split, up 3s 3d to 36s 6d, Manthel up Is 3d to 27s 9d, New Zealand Newspapers up 2s to 75s 6d, Tasman up Is 5d to 48s Bd, and the unlisted Cooper Manufacturing up 2s 6d to 32s 6d. Sharp falls by New Zealand shares were made by Westland Breweries, down 3s to 345, and South Otago Freezing, down 3s to 395, possibly because of disappointment that no bonus plans were announced. Dunlop N.Z. Dunlop New Zealand last week announced a 5.8 per cent rise in profit and an annual dividend at the rate forecast at the time the one-for-four bonus issue was announced in February.

Tax-paid profit for the year to December 31. taking in profit from subsidiaries, was

£336,151 against £317,515 the year before.

Giving these results in a preliminary report, directors recommended a 10 per cent ordinary dividend for the year.

This is the same rate as that paid since 1961, but bonus shares qualify so it equals 12 i per cent on the old capital.

Dunlop’s one-for-four lifted ordinary capital from £lm to £1,250,000; preference capital is £500,000.

Both the ordinary and preference shares have now been ! split into 10s units. Timaru Milling sharehold- : ers were told by their I directors last week not to sell .their shares until they are I given details of an offer from A. S. Paterson and Company. Patersons already hold about 120,120 of Timaru Milling's 210,000 20s ordinary shares or roughly 58 per cent of the company’s capital. Last sale of Timaru Millling shares was made on October 9 last year at 35s 9d. At this price Patersons would have to pay about £158,413 for the rest of the shares in the company.

Mamaku Bid

If Mamaku Forests’ bid for Redwood Forests is successful, then R. A. Brierley Investments holdings in timber subsidiaries will be substantial.

Already Brierley has large interests in Putaruru Pine Products (61 per cent at last balance date), Putaruru Pine and Pulp Company (98 per cent) and, of course, Mamaku Forests (71 per cent). Mamaku Forests is offering 13s 6d for each preference share and 10s an ordinary share and the offer has been recommended by Redwood Forests directors.

Earlier, Redwood directors said they would not consider any offer of less than 14s a share, and were considering liquidation. A heavy fall in the market price of Redwoods’ main asset, 122,500 shares in New Zealand Forest Products, is the reason for directors’ change in attitude. Other assets are properties valued at about £30,000 in Onehunga, but these are partly offset by a £20,000 mortgage.

Paid up capital is £244,260 of which all but £151,815 is in preference shares. Based on this, the bid is worth about £138,314. Most of the 2564 shareholders live overseas, 1442 in India and 93 in Australia. Preference shares last sold

in 1963 at 4s 6d each, but no sales of ordinary shares have been reported for some years. Ross and Glendining announced late last week that it was again passing its interim dividend.

The company passed its interim dividend in the year to July 19 last, then paid a final 3| per cent against a total 6 per cent the year before and 8 per cent, taking in a 2 per cent centennial bonus, in 1962.

There was a return to profit by the company last year with a consolidated net result of £131,113 compared with a loss of £4245 the year before.

Directors are optimistic about prospects for the current year and they say profit should be about the same as last year. In their interim report they said group sales for the six months to January 19 were slightly below the same half of last year. However, there had been a saving in expenses and this meant profit was roughly in line. No Quotation

Quotation of New Zealand Refrigerating’s deferred dividend shares was suspended last week after an agreement with the New Zealand Stock Exchange Association. Apparently there has been some difficulty in marking transfers as the completion of allotment lists has taken longer than expected. The move does not affect any other New Zealand Refrigerating shares or notes. Quotation of the deferred dividend shares should be resumed about April 12. C.O.P. Moves In recent months Cash Order Purchases has been active in take-over bids for small companies, mainly those dealing in finance and investments.

Its latest moves have been in the Nelson area where two bids have been highly successful. Last week Cash Order declared its offer for Trafalgar Finance unconditional after more than a 90 per cent acceptance. The offer was two 5s Cash Order shares for each 20s Trafalgar share, or 23s cash. Early in January Cash Orders was successful in a bid for Nelson Guarantee Corporation.

Since January of last year Cash Order has acquired Northern Finance, Phoenix Investments. New Zealand Leasing Corporation and Metropolitan Finance Corporation. Transactions Transactions last week on the Christchurch Stock Exchange were:—Government stock, £3700 (£2BOO previous week); local body and company debentures, £6400 (£3200); preference, 300 (2452):- banks, 500 (1006); breweries, 6700 (7900); building societies, nil (16); frozen meat, 2160 (1350); insurance, 2000 (5100): loan and agency. 5414 (18,854); shipping, 2285 (nil); woollens and textiles, 5140 (12,491); Australian miscellaneous, 13,590 (9450): New Zealand miscellaneous, 32,243 (40,450); mining. 6550 (7100): unlisted, 200 (143); total, 77,084 (106,812).

Tui Brewery.— Tui Brewery. Mangatainoka. is to make an issue of 238,812 registered unsecured convertible 6$ per cent 5s notes converting to one share for one note on February 28. 1970. They will be offered to shareholders on the basis of two notes for every five ordinary shares held.—(P.A.) I OTTAWA, CANADA. March 23. COURT RULES PATENT INFRINGED The Exchequer Court in Ottawa has ruled that tetracycline supplied to a Canadian firm by Fermentfarma of Milan, Italy, infringes Canadian Patents held by the American Cyanamid Company. Since pharmaceutical patents are not presently available under Italian law, the suit was brought in Canada against Charles E. Frosst and Company, which had been importing Tetracycline manufactured by Fermentfarma for sale in Canada. In the decision. Mr Justice Camil Noel held that the organism used by Fermentfarma to produce Tetracycline, and named by them, “Streptomy- ; ces Lusitanus,” is actually “Streptomyces Aureofaciens.” The use of “Streptomyces Aureofaciens" is covered by American Cyanamid Company patents in many countries throughout the world. On this basis, the Court held that Cyanamid patents in Canada were infringed by sales of the Fermentfarma material and has granted an injunction immediately prohibiting further sale of Fermentfarma material. The Court has awarded damages to Cyanamid. —P.B.A. 5236