National Consolidated ahead 8.8 p.c.

Press, 25 February 1978, Page 19

National Consolidated ahead 8.8 p.c.

NZPA Melbourne [ The . group net profit ofi■ National Consolidated, Ltd,! diversified manufacturing' and marketing group, rosep 8.8 percent to $Au5t2,914,000 ; in the six months to Decern- i ber 31, despite the prolonged power strike in Victoria, and i the depressed housing con- ’ struction market. i An industrial dispute in July reduced the production I and sales of the group’s < bathroom accessories divi- I sion. The demand from the auto- < motive industry remained de- I pressed because of the con- ] tinuation of the downturn I which began in the last months of the year to June 30. <

Despite these factors, group sales rose 9.3 per cent during the period to $65.4M. But while sales were ahead, the pre-tax profit actually slipped 2.9 per cent to $4.5M, and the after-tax gain was only made possible by the application of the trading stock valuation adjustment, which resulted in a tax saving of $362,000. The tax provision fell $357,000 to $1,552,000, but depreciation rose $171,000 ro $1,010,000. The result excludes an over-all extraordinary gain of $36,000 compared with the previous year’s gain of $257,000. The interim dividend is steady at 5c a share (10 per cent).