Crown will stick to rural sector

Press, 10 November 1981, Page 37

Crown will stick to rural sector

There is a need for a reminder that agriculture will continue to be by far the most important area of the nation's economy, in spite of other resources receiving considerable public attention from the Government, the chairman of Crown Consolidated, Ltd, says in his annual report.

‘Jit is an indisputable fact that the heart of New Zealand's economy will remain in agriculture,” says Mr R. B. Weir, chairman of the national stock and station agency. Crown Consolidated increased its profit 52 per cent to S3M in the 13 months to August 1, and Mr Weir states in his report that the company was committed to continued sound expansion. “It is our policy to become stronger and even more ’ profitable, and we know that we can best do that by aligning ourselves even more closely to the farming business, which has' such a great future,” he said. Mr Weir drew attention to the growth of Crown Consolidated during the last 10 years. In 1970, profit after tax was $262,000. The company had total assets of SI2M 10 years ago

and at August 1 this year assets were valued at $97.7M. Shareholders’ funds were $4 6 million in 1970 and $34 million in 1981. Staff members have increased from 750 to 1771 in the decade. In the last year, Crown expanded into the South Island for the first time with its acquisition of Canterbury Farmers’ Co-operative Association, Ltd, and the outstanding minority interest in Gisborne Sheepfarmers Mercantile Company, Ltd, was also acquired. Crown now has eight principal trading units: Newtown King, Ltd, Taranaki and Wanganui; New Zealand Farmers’ Co-op. Distributing Company, Ltd, Rangitikei, Manawatu and Wairarapa; Rod Weir and Company, Ltd, Horowhenua and Wellington; De Pelichet McLeod and Company, Ltd, Hawke’s Bay; Gisborne Sheepfarmers Mercantile Company, Ltd, Hastings; Canterbury Fanners’ Co-operative Association, Ltd, South Canterbury and North Otago; Crown Metals, Ltd; and Crown Finance New Zealand, Ltd, the national finance subsidiary. In achieving the $1,034,000 increase in profit, turnover

rose from S2BBM to $376M. The return on average ordinary shareholders’ funds was 11.4 per cent, up from 10.5 per cent the previous year and Mr Weir noted that this was ahead of the average of companies operating in the same industry. Total paid-up capital now stands at $12,329,000 ($6,656,000 the previous year) and shareholders’ funds are now $33,976,000 ($19,355,000 in 1980). Crown Consolidated has assets of $97,697,000 ($57,300,000 the previous year). The directors are proposing a final dividend of 9 per cent on ordinary shares, making 17 per cent for the period. Last year the total dividend was 16 per cent. The annual meeting on November 30 will also consider increasing authorised capital from $l5 million to $5O million.

With the integration of C.F.C.A. into Crown and the change of balance date which gave a 13 month reporting period, the current and last annual results were not strictly comparable, Mr Weir says. “However, we can state that after adjusting for those distortions we achieved a good improvement on 1980 figures.”