DRAPERS' PROFITS

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3042, 31 March 1917, Page 4

DRAPERS' PROFITS

__ y —:——■ PROSPEROUS YEAR FOR THE BIG WHOLESALE HOUSES. Judging by the; results 60 far announced (writes a trade correspondent of tho "Daily News"), tlia wholesale drapery houses In Britain have enjoyed another .' exceptionally prosperous year's trading, in spite of—or, perhaps, because of—the war. Compared .witli lust .'reports published prior to tho outbreak of war, tho profits for the financial year just ended are In a number of cases doubled, and in one or two even quadrupled. Ono London concern, tho Fore Street Warehouse Co., Ltd., reports a profit of .£G3,'BG, which compares with <825,292 in 1913. This company announced twelve months ago that its profit for 1015 of .£48,857 had only once been exceeded in the last 39 years' trading, and yet it has managed to improvo on that figuro by .£14,000. -Messrs. J; E. and H.. Roberts, Ltd., a Manchester house, record a profit of .£42,220. which is' i! 24,220 moro than . threo years previously, and oven bettor still, because provision has been made for excess' profits tax before arriving at the act profit. ' • Mc6srs. Hunter, Bare and Co., Ltd., of Glasgow, disolose an improvement of fifty per cent, on' 1913, after ""deducting excess profits tax tho profit'for last year being 332,488. Two Birmingham houses, Atessrs. Bell and Nieolson, Ltd., and Messrs. Wilkinson and Riddell,Ltd,, report increase of .84700 and ,£5350 respecr lively, in each case after .allowing for exoess profits tax. Ono instance where profits nave been quadrupled is that of Messrs. -John Howell and C 0.., Ltd., the figures for lost year being .£42,158, against .£10,580 in 1913. This is tho highest result in the' 46 years' history of this company, and is nine timee better than four yews ago. Another instance is Messrs. Pnwsons and Leats, Ltd., a neighbouring concern in "St. Paul's Churchyard, London, who record an advance from .£7639 to Tn the threo yearß, the latteramount'being after payment of excess profits tax. ■■■-■.... Messrs. Foster, Porter'and Co., Ltd,, of Wood Street. London,- also announce profits nearly three and a half times those for the last year of peace, but in this case additional capital has been, ( called up during the interval. The profit for 1916 was .£49,188. ' Amongst other surprising results is that of ' Messrs. Alliston and Co., Ltd., of London, who have turned a loss of in 1913 into a profit of JH1.156 last year.