News in brief

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 33052, 20 October 1972, Page 18

News in brief

Brambles take-over Brambles Industries, Ltd, Australia, announced that it has acquired the tanker equipment owned and used by North West Vegetable Oils, Pty, Ltd, of Narrabri. The cash price paid by Brambles has not been disclosed. North West Vegetable Oils has been running a fleet of tankers to service the Sydney market, and the balance of the oil cartage has been handled by Brambles and Haddads, now part of the bulk haulage division. In agreeing to sell its tanker fleet to Brambles, North West Vegetable Oils has given to Brambles-Haddad a long-term cartage contract for the haulage of oil. B.NS.W. backs bid Life Savers (Australasia), Ltd, is understood to have large financial backing from the Bank of New South Wales in its bid to take over Frozen Food Industries of Australia, Ltd, for $8,760,000. Offer documents sent to Frozen Food shareholders show that Life Savers is in a strong cash position at present, but it is understood the company would be able to call on the Bank of New South Wales for up to $6.5m finance for the bid. This is not particularly surprising, as the bank was prepared to finance Life Savers for up to s9m when the company was bidding for James Stedman in 1971. Expansion halted An expansion project for Queensland Alumina’s s!2om refinery at Gladstone came to a halt yesterday when the company dismissed 1200 men, after a series of unauthorised stoppages at the plant. “There have been more than 900 unauthorised stoppages of work since expansion at the refinery started two years ago,” said the company’s managing director (Mr L. J. McAdams). —(P.A.)

Sydney retailers In Sydney on Wednesday, two leading retailers, Waltons, Ltd, and David Jones, Ltd, held annual meetings which were more optimistic about the future than for some time. Sir John Walton, chairman of Waltons, told shareholders that sales for the first 10 weeks of the current financial year were 17.9 per cent ahead of those in the same period a year ago. Mr Charles Lloyd Jones, chairman of David Jones, said that both sales and profits were running ahead of the directors’ budget. Both companies’ financial years end on July 31. Kanieri Gold The Kanieri gold dredge recovered 474 oz of bullion in the half month to October 15, from 151,000 yards of spoil, worked in 223 hours.