General Finance caps eventful year

Press, 4 December 1979, Page 22

General Finance caps eventful year

General Finance, Ltd, which has rejected two suitors in recent months, has reported a very successful year to its shareholders. During the latter part of the financial year to October 31. shareholders received an offer from Transvision Holdings, Limited, for their shares. It is now a matter of record that shareholders rejected this. The Trans(vision offer was followed by that group’s apparent backer — Electronic Rentals Group, Limited, making an offer of S9M for the group’s television rental business. This was also rejected as inadequate. I “Shareholders had displayed their confidence in the group’s continued profited future. The results reported for the year justify that confidence,” say the

'chairman of General Finance (Mr A. H. Armour). In arriving at the profit, Mr Armour advised that changes in the treatment of depreciation on rental television sets and taxation had materially affected profit for the year. Mr Armour says that the profit of $3,628,000 for the year under review should be compared with the profit for' 1978 ($2,035,000) adjusted to; $2,682,000, to incorporate [ the amended policies. I Thus the latest profit was] an improvement of $946,0001 or 35 per cent over that for; 11978. i The results include a con-; tribntion from the car rental! operations of White Glove! ; Services N.Z., Limited, : which was acquired in No- ■ vember. 1978. The. directors recommend

a final distribution of 12c a share on February 27 (12 per cent) oi which 10c will be free of tax in shareholders’ hands. The total distribution recommended for the vear will therefore be 18c a share compared with 13c previously. The group’s liquidity remains healthy in the continued difficult monetary [and economic conditions. [Strong demand for all of the [group’s financial and rental ! facilities was experienced | for much of the yer, with I the main difficulty being to i obtain the level of funds [necessary to meet demand. ; The inevitable result of ! these factors was strong upiward pressure on interest rates paid by the group in I common with other deposittaking institutions, the report says.