Bell Group bonus on $65M profit

Press, 19 September 1985, Page 38

Bell Group bonus on $65M profit

NZPA-AAP Perth Mr Robert Holmes a Court’s Bell Group shares surged 40c on Tuesday to close at 980 each following the announcement of a one-for-one bonus issue and a J65.28M after-tax profit for the year ended in June. The surge flowed through to Bell Resources, which closed 20c up at 870. The share price rises mean that the value of Mr Holmes a Court’s personal holdings in Bell Group and Bell Resources rose to more than SS9IM, confirming the Perth-based entrepreneur as Australia’s richest man. Mr Holmes a Court holds 46.6 per cent of Bell Group’s issued capital and 42.3 per cent of Bell Resources issued capital. The Bell Group’s latest earnings compare with a $40.54M net operating profit - in the previous year. , They also include for the first time the group’s ■equity-accounted share of ‘profits of associated com.panies, Bell Resources, Ltd, and J. N. Taylor Holdings, Ltd.

i Bell Resources is 44.7 per cent owned by the Bell Group. It reported a jump in Ji®e half earnings to

$34.7M, from $9.55M earlier this year. J. N. Taylor is 45.5 per cent Bell Group owned. Last month, it reported a rise in net earnings for the year to June 30 to $2.05M from $583,000 the previous year. Bell Group’s directors recommended an unchanged 5c a share final dividend payable on December 5 to shareholders registered on November 22. The bonus issue will be made to shareholders registered on December 31. The latest year’s profit was earned on group turnover totalling $731.77M, 1 up

from $440.37M the previous year because of the adoption of equity accounting. The equity accounting approach also saw the inclusion of a $34.92M extraordinary profit for the Bell Group’s share of the-sale of Bell Resources’ 53 per cent share of an oil and gas explorer, Weeks Australia, Ltd. This took the after-ex-traordinaries profit available to shareholders to $100.76M. A further large extraordinary profit is likely this year through the sale of Bell Group’s international music publishing company, Northern Songs. The company holds publishing rights to early Beatles songs, and was sold to a musician, Michael Jackson, for SUS49M, giving Bell Groun a SUS37M profit.