Good news for H. and P.

Press, 13 August 1980, Page 19

Good news for H. and P.

PA Auckland The news was all good for the large number of Henderson and Pollard, Ltd, shareholders v.ho attended the anannual meeting. The chairman (Mr C. W. Pollard) said that profit in the year to date was “substantially beyond” the previous year’s record level, as were sales. Incorporated in the sales figure were exports which were “surging ahead.” Contributions by the company’s sales subsidiary, Henderson and Pollard Sales, Ltd, and the West Coast and Whangarei operations had all improved on the previous year.

Mr Pollard made no secret of the relief felt by the company when it sold its share in NZ Particle Board, Ltd, which had traded at a loss for some years. The cost Henderson and Pollard incurred through its connection with the particle board company could not be

estimated accurately, he said, because of the tax benefits accruing from the loss.

Mr Pollard said that settlement of the sale price for its 50 per cent interest had been “fair and beneficial” to all parties. The chairman spoke with confidence of the company’s future. He said that “several very exciting developments” considered by the board would now be implemented after the disclosure of Feltex New Zealand, Ltd, as the buyer of large parcels of the company shares. (Feltex last month announced it had bought a 23 per cent stake in Henderson and Pollard.) Mr Pollard said that the board was concerned at raids during the past nine months on the company shares on the sharemarket, and was relieved that “friendly” Feltex had disclosed its interest.

He said he had not been approached by Feltex seeking a position on the board. Henderson and Pollard in-

volvement in sawmilling on the West Coast had been increased since balance date through the acquisition of Houston Timbers, Ltd, in Harihari. He said the acquisition, with associated long-term cutting rights, strengthened the company’s efficiency in the area. The profitability of the northern timber operation had initially been affected by the “considerably increased cost of royalties for saw logs,” but very buoyant demand and improved performance at the Mt Eden sawmill had reversed the trend.

Mr Pollard said: “Maybe it is not so strange that our forestry division does not seem to mind forest royalty increases . . . when you consider that a 10 per cent increase in royalties gives a theoretical added value of $1 million to our forests.” He said the company welcomed the future, and would cope with its challenges to the benefit of shareholders and the country.