Upward trend fails to halt fall in profits

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33929, 23 August 1975, Page 19

Upward trend fails to halt fall in profits

(New Zealand Press Association—Copyright) SYDNEY. j In spite of an upward trend in the last few months of 1974-75, F. and T. Industries, Ltd, ended the year to June 30 with a 44.2 per cent drop in group net profit after an 8.2 per cent expansion in sales.

; As signalled - by the re-1 Iduced interim payment, divi-; dend for the year has been reduced from 25 per cent toj: 20 per cent after the earning! rate on capital dropped from I • 41.3 per cent to 23 per cent. Group net profit dropped by $A3.5m to $4.4m. Group . sales expanded by sl2m to i slsBm. The divergent paths of! I earnings and turnover meant! that F. and T.'s profit-to-q sales ratio was cut from! 5.48 c to 2.82 c in the dollar. ; The ■ profit was struck after making allowance for 1 both November and budget < tax cuts of 21 per cent each. <

I Income tax expense fell 50! !per cent to $3.4m. Depreciation rose 3.9 per cent to |s4.7m (up $180,000) and miI nority interests were down 143 per cent to $lBl,OOO, The directors say that profits in the half-year to June 30 were adversely affected by the additional week’s leave shutdown and ithe subsequent slow return I to activity in industry gener'ally. I Towards the end of the year, industrial action in Victoria closed several factories for extended periods, and disrupted production in others.