BUILDING COMPANIES

Dominion, Volume 32, Issue 93, 13 January 1939, Page 12

BUILDING COMPANIES

Australian Results Improve

A natural corollary of. the increased building activity iu Australia in 1938 was the improvement in profits of most companies engaged in constructional ' nc *T*' tries. The table below shows that -t> such companies increased their net earnings from £1,815,679 in 1937 to £2,000,18a last year—an improvement of 10.2 per cent. . . i In some cases, however, additional.capital was required to finance this* expansion of business, and Calculated on shareholders’ funds’the aggregate profits for 1938 represented an earning rate of 9.3 per cent., which was a shade lower than the rate in the previous year.

Profits for the year in some sections of this group of companies reached new peaks. Six constructional contracting companies recorded the most outstanding improvement in profits, the total figure of £209,270 representing an increase of' 24.2 per cent, on the results for the previous year. The iron ami steel industry, represented by the Broken Hill Proprietary Company, maintained a steady advance in earnings. Results of the various groups are shown in the table appended:—

Wellington Poultry Market Prices of live poultry in the Wellington market yesterday were quoted by Townsend and Paul, Ltd., as follows: Fowls. —White Leghorns: Ileus, 2/6 t° 3/- each; cockerels. ,10d. to ]/- a lb.; pullets, 5/- to 6/6 each. Black- Orpingtons: liens (heavy), 4/6 to 5/6 each: (medium). 2/6 lo 3/6 each: cockerels (heavy), 1011. to 1/- a lb.; (medium). 1()d. to 1/-. Rhode Island Reds: Cockerels (heavy), Khl. to 1/- a lb.. Ducks. — Indian Runner (young), 3/6 t (l 4/6 each; (old), 2/. to 3/6; white (young). 4/- to 6/-; (heavy), 5/- to 7/6. Geese. —4/- to 7/6 each. Turkeys.—l/- to 1/3 a lb

On Building mate1037. £ b 1038. £ shareloldi’ts’ funds. UK’».S rials (5) . 100.282 202,663 9.3 Cement (5) . Const motional contracting 240,71 G 260,519 10. L (G) .... .Iron and steel 168,434 209.270 8.6 (I) .... 1 ,183,171 1,300.461 9.4 Bricks (3) . 24.076 J ( , J ( J . 7 Total (20) 1,815,679 2,000.185 9.3