COMMERCIAL & FINANCIAL

Evening Post, Volume XCVI, Issue 40, 15 August 1918, Page 4

COMMERCIAL & FINANCIAL

Evening Post, Thursday.

; _ Financial journals ore directing attention to th% modern tendency of industrial companies not only to pay handsome dividends, but to give their shareholders munificent scrip bonuses. In tho majority of cases those bonuses came out of reserve funds, which, before tho war, waro not accumulated for these ends. Funds arenow beiiiff capitalised and shares issued against them. Twelve months ngo the Shell Transport and Trading- Company issued a bonus to shareholders in the form of one million ordinary shares at par when the market quotations) were in the vicinity of £6, shareholders having the right to apply for one share in respect ot every four shares hold. Now they give a still more handsome bonus and resort to quite another policy. They propose to raise the ordinary share capital from £5.000.000 to £12.000.00. to take £3,000,000 out of the £4,000,000 reserve, capitalise, it, and distribute it to the shareholders in scrip. This-will leave £4,000,000 of capital unissued. They say "the object of the increase of capital is to distribute in the future the amounts available for dividends on a capital more, nearly approximate to tho actual funds paid by the shareholders than is represented by the present nominal capital." Companies can divide profits up to the hilt, force market prices to a premium, issue shares at par or at their own arbii trary premium, which is below the- market premium ;_ demand upon these preraiums for their reserves (one well-known English company's reserve of £4,000,000 includes no less than £3,600,000 of premiums), inako a. show of such reserves for a season, and hand back the premiuTnß in the shape of scrip. Recently tho directors of Brunner, Mond and Co. paid' a dividond which works out at 11 i>er cent, on the multiplied capital, tho shareholders a few months back havingreceived threo shares for every two held.

The Farmers' Co-operative Whqlsesalc Federation of New Zealand promises to develop into an. important buying concern.- It now includes subscribing' associations in both Islands, whose nominal capital aggregates over £3,000,000. Their shareholders exceed 30,000—a1l farmers.

WOOL.—The official description of the Now Zealand wool clip of 1917-18 ia as follows: —Auckland: "Wo_ol cxmo in in good condition .... but there is still room for improvement as the bulk of the wools offered are very mixed." Poverty Bay, and Tokomaru Bay: "The wool in tm's . district is disappointing,- &ood wns much in evidence in many cases, and had a serious effect on the value. Hogget wool, poorly grown, short, and tender—no doubt caused by unfavourable conditions of the previous winter. Lambs came, forward .generally short and more or Ic3s soedy, there being very few choice lines." Hawkea Bay: "The condition of the wool submitted up to the end of January was generally good, although not so well grown as usual, but hogget wool was in poor condition,, short, and tender; while there were few really good lots of lambs' wool, the majority were short and carried moro or less seed, and later offerings carried an excessive quantity of seed, 1 and were heavy in condition." Wellington, Wings.- i nui, and Waitara: "Generally in the earlier part of the- season the wool came forward in bettpr condition than during 1917; but later on hogget wool showed want of length, and, in many cases was vary tendor. Late shorn clip 3 carried a. greater percentage of seed than usual. Lamb's wool was shorter, with, comparatively few lines free fi-om:| seed." Marlborough : "The whole clip was decidedly better than that of the previous year, aud some of the merino clips came forward in excellent; condition." Nelson: "This had evidently been a favourable wintor,' and the wool was submitted in good condition." Christchurch: ".Wool offered in this centre was in bettor condition" than that of the previous year." Timaru—"A j number ot merino clips that had been previously scoured wore submittod in the grease, and while they were heavy in condition, they were generally -well , gi-own.. _ Crossbred* and haUbreds.eame, ■■forward in very'good "condition and bct>-<----ter than the average." Oamaru: "This district has a reputation for heavy conditioned and dirty wool, but this year's was exceptional, and the wool camo forward in really good condition. Dunedin: "The wpol olio offered was in better condition than in the previous year, and the best lines of halfbred in the Dominion won* submitted for valuation." Inveroargill: "The wool gonerally was well grown and in. good condition; hogget wool particularly so."

PRODUCE.—New Zealand's dependence upon Australia for cereal and kindrtfd supplies woukl seem to be growing. Chall, quoted to-day at £9 15s per ton f.o.b. Blenheim, is being imported from Sydney and Melbourne to meet local requTreniOtits. Maize is being landed in Wellington, from Sydney at the price equivalent to what Gisborne holders are prep&rod to quit nt. Pollard is being imported (on Government account, but 3iol, private account) from. Melbourne. The Government Statistician has prepared for the Mhiister of Internal Affairs a. taKe showing that in 1913 Now Zealand imported ' from Australia 37 centals of wlisar, in 1914 72,896 centals, in 1915 48,602 centals; in 1916 30,905 csrttaJe, !a.nd in 1917 71,012 centals. Imports of oats were: 705 centals in. 1913; 10,220 in. 1914, 4472 in 1915, 114,894 in 1916, and 227,383 in 1917. During the three years 1913-14-15 rvew Zealand imported in all .15. centals of barley, worth £10. In 1916 Now Zealand imported 53,201 centals, and in 1917 56,452 centals, or about £54,000 worth in .the two years. In 1916 Now Zealand was a heavy importer of potatoes from Australia, ha.ving bought hore 2081 tons, worth £15,695. Last year the importation of potatoes was negligible, but maizo imports were 1463 tons, worth. £6205. Potatoes during August have advanced £2 per ton. Auckland, usually a- producer of early potatoes, is an. importer from Wellington at the present time, soms being consigned to Pukekohe, the "new potato" district. There is plenty of booking in the South Island on North Island account, but the great difficulty is to get the produce here. .

OATMEAL.—The advance in-the price of oatmeal by £5 per ton is attributed solely to the high prices and firm holdings of oa-ts suitable for milling in the So"ulh Island The threshings January to June this year amount to 4,279,131 bushels, equal to 32.69 per acre, as a.gainst 5,157,359 bushel?, equal to 32.09 bushels per acre, for last year's hardest.

HEMP.—Ame-rica. is not an ousta-nding featuro of the market at present, and Australia, is practically out of the market. Millers have resumed for the season. Friera tro nominally £37 10a for good fair, £36 to £3? for <iigh. fair, and £34 10s to £35 for low .fair.

DAIRY PRODUCE.—HoIders of butter still show a strong; disinclination to sell for local consumption. To export butter to Canada, permits art still required, and now Canada, stipulates that permits to import must first be obtained. Tho price of butter for local distribution has been raised by id per pound. The reason given for the reluctance of factories to liberate" butter-for the domestic market is that by so doing they mig-ht not participate in the division of the anticipated 2d per pound profit on the Imperial transaction. It has boon ascertained that 159 factories approve of an equalisation fund and that seven a.re against. Four factories had to reply at tho timo .of writing. TheTo was nothing new to be said about cheeso on going to press.

DRIED MlLK.—lnterest in dried milk production in the North Island, and particularly in the Auckland district, continues unabated. At Waharon, on the Hamilton-Rotorua line, on 11th August, 1300 cows were "signed up" for the new milk powder industry which it was resolved to establish there.. It was stated at the formation meeting that, the supply of 3000 cows would be secured; also that, the present price of skim milk powder was Is 8d por pound, returning 4s per pound for butter-fat to the supplier. Farmers, however, were warned not to reckon on such- a- high return. The dried piilk question was considered at a. meeting of producers held lnst week at Palmorslon North. It was there stated that a scheme for the amalgamation of com-.

panics for dried milk manufacture M m process of formation.

_ TEA.—At the last Colombo 9ales beat liquoring and broken and tippy teas wero firm; ordinary'medium to fine, slightly easier. Australian buying was moderate. At tho Calcutta 6ales fannin?s and common teas were weak; others dearer. The local market is being well supplied with good value Java teas.

GENERAL GOODS.—Enquiries have been-received from London for New Zealand jams in fairly large quantities, but for want of shipping space the business cannot bo entertained. New season's salmon pricoa (British Columbia) have been received. Thoy show an advance of 20 per oont. over last season' 6 opening prices.