A SUCCESSFUL YEAR

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 69, 15 December 1919, Page 12

A SUCCESSFUL YEAR

FARMERS' DISTRIBUTING COMPANY BENEFITS OF CO-OPERATION The sixteenth annual meeting of shareholders in the Mew Zealand Farmers' Co-operative Distributing Company, Ltd., was held in the Dominion Farmers' Institute on Thursday. Sir Janice! Wilson, Messrs. T. "More, and J. Bryce wore unanimously dected to threo vacant, seats on the directorate. In presenting the annual report and balance-iheet, Sir James AV lson said he was pleased to report another very successful year. He had never ant.cipated at tho "trying time of the company's commencement that it would 'each it? present phenomenal standing. Tho net nicfit for the year was .£11.21? 15s. f>d. This was after malting full consideration for bad. debts, depreciat'on, shareholders' rebates and bonuses,- and sotting aside ,£750 as bonuses to tho staff. To the abovo net profit had to be added the sum of i£2G3G os. 9d., brought forward from last year, making a total of ,£13,854 lGs. sd. to be dealt wit'l. Tlu directors recommended that this amount be deposed of by the payment "f a dividend on both ! A and B" shares at 7J p-jr cent, free of income tax The income tax amounted to a sum ual to over four-fifths of the amour - 'ich it took to pay d vidend on t whole of tho paid up capital. TV- -osen-r fund had now been increased ..Cto.OOfl. ociiial to 20 per cent, on the capita!; The total business of the year"don" by the oompany amounted to j.'i/MS.TfI". making a record ot which th" cc-nipanv should be proud. This spV'did result was due larirely to the efforts of the general manager, Mr. A. T.i"'Hi T T unt, and the staff, and they were to hearrilv conarratu'atfd upon tho of their efforts. The company had been pressed to start stock sales V V. The dilicult'es of lnlwr and (he scareib" of timber had serious matters. Thay bad had eventually to bui'd their stockyards in femvurvete. and thev hnd now splc.niHd yards at Marton, Ilnnterville. and Tnihape. Ihe sains had been held at tHse places and had been very successful. New yards were contemplated at and it was liopM soon to have «i.«s in that centre. Sir James W'lson mentioned that there was a certa n fe-jt'on of the public, particularly in I,Vfl.ington, who thought that th» co-iwrativo {•ompfIHJPS WOVft out to t pwplp. lie emphatically declared that t'vs was a l'bel There was no exploitation with a co-operative oompany. The profits were -•ot high, and it was largely 'hroiigli efficient management that the company ha! been so successful, rhdr profits were not all divided among't themselves, but rebates wore given on and bonuses were .given to the stafr. The directors hnd had under consideration the question of snperannnation for employees, and 'f was hoped f ; oon to p ace the matter before the staff; hed been voted as a nucleus of the funds, and there was no doubt that ' t would nrove of great benefit to their employees, gir .Tames Wilson said that the success of the co-operative movement had incurred the disnleasure of the rivals of th» company. In order to overcome this lcvaltv ivas wanted. The divfctors had a right to expect tho cordial su-priort of the farmers, and he considered they hrd great cense to be nrouil of the company" they had formed. Tt woykod for the : nteresl-s of the many and helped on the nrodnct''on of the country. Mr. H. A. Nevins. Timv, m seconding tho motion, urge<l the company to moceed with its stock sales in the »nirarana district, as delay ini doing so would only give an opportu.iv.ty_ for others to step in and take the business whHi wns waitiiiT for the compsmy. The report and balance-sheet were a( '\\"eartv v«t« of thanks was accorded to Mr. G. Ti. Marshall, the ;-etiring director, for what be had the company during his term of HKce. A hearty vote of thanks to the staff was also pa-ssed. Mv. A. Leigh Funt, in returning flanks for the staff, said the company had began w-'th a capital of XSOOO, find a large porh'on of this had lost before the turning-point cane.' Die real turaiuT-point, however, bo"nn. when it entered into the wool trade: and they bad made rar»'d progress dunne th» last fo>"- years. J r r. Funt warned the shareholders to watch for any attemot which mi«ht be mado to create d'ssension among the ranks of the farmers by those who wished to see the co-operative movement wrecked.