Commercial Progressive results good

Press, 10 July 1979, Page 24

Commercial Progressive results good

Progressive Enterprises, Ltd. Auckland, supermarket owner, and operator of the “Georgie Pie” restaurant chain, showed good results in its latest year of growth. In addition to the two new supermarkets opened during the year the size of the head office block was increased by 50 per cent. A new supermarket is being built in Williamson Avenue, Newmarket. “Public acceptance of the ‘Georgie Pie’ restaurants had been beyond expectations, but. we cannot walk into al new venture, and expect profitability overnight. The output of the factory was being increased to supply a high-quality range of products to the supermarket division and the outlook for ‘Georgie Pie’ was encouraging,” says Mr Ah Chee. During the past six months the company had begun using portable order-

entry terminals to transmit orders from branches to the head office computer. The new equipment increased efficiency andj; enabled more effective use I of retail space. In the year to March 31, j second-haff trading produced a considerably better profit' than for the first half-year,) the managing-director (Mr T. H. Ah Chee) says in the annual report. Most of the start-up costs of the new supermarkets at St Lukes and Highland Park, ifell into the first, half of the year, but trading of both ; branches effectively began early in the second halfyear, and the loss of Georgie . Pie Family Restaurant division was reduced from i $170,000 in the first six months to $137,000 in the i second half-year. As announced, the groups i net profit rose $407,623, or 19.3 per cent to $2,514,893.

Reflecting increased capital investments, the profit was struck after depreciation $216,374 higher at ($1,262,015. I The provision for tax was I up $699,984 at $2,063,203. I The earning rate on ordi- • nary shareholders’ funds eased from 22.7 per cent to {20.5 per cent as new projects made smaller contributions to profits than established ones. The dividend rate is steady at 11.5 per cent, 11.5 c a share, but it is payable on capital increased by last) year’s 1:4 bonus issue. Shares to be issued in the) forthcoming 1:5 bonus issue rank for the 6.5 per cent! final dividend. Ordinary dividends require $490,670 in addition to the $67,467 preference payments. Shareholders’ funds increased $2,450,020 to $14,159,972, including ordinary capital of $3,833,325,

land $1,022,225 preference. Term liabilities were S 3 0 0 , 1 3 0 higher at $4,025,747. The profit represented 12,49 c in the sales dollar, compared with 2,55 c last year and 2.51 c in 1977. Last year’s result was helped by the opening stock tax i adjustment, which increased itax-paid profit $144,000.

( Sales were SIOO.BM and i within one-tenth of 1 per cent of budget, said Mr Ah iChee. I He notes that the econlomic stimulation of election--1 year policies produced a (consumer-led boom, which jp: jduced some benefit for (all retailers, including the company. “Food is traditionally a very stable industry, and our experience has shown clearly that the fluctuation between boom-time and re-cession-time spending on food is not great,” he says.