BREWTNG INDUSTRY

Evening Post, Volume CXVI, Issue 25, 29 July 1933, Page 14

BREWTNG INDUSTRY

POOR TRADE, HEAVY TAXES

About 50 shareholders were present at the annual meeting of Dominion Breweries, Limited, Auckland. Mr. H. K. Iveimers presided. A resolution. providing for a reduction of capital from £250,000 in shares of £1 each to £100,000 divided into 160,000 shares of 12s 6d each was submitted to a special meeting, which was adjourned for a month. ■ Referring to the. loss of £14,002 for the year, Mr. Reimers said a considerable amount consisted of debit balances brought forward, and the directors thought it advisable to extinguish these accounts altogether. There was a debit balance in the appropriation : account of £8560. j"The -turnover for the year shows a substantial increase over the preceding year, arid April, Mayi June, and July of this year show- an , increase of about 20 per cent, over the samevmonths of last year," said Mr. Reimers. "However, the cost of obtaining any increase in turnover is heavy/ while the margin of profit, owing to excessive taxation, is not sufficiently large to counteract this increased cost. It is- evident that with a return to anything like, normal trading conditions the company will reap the full "benefit from the increase in turnover." \

Mr. H. J. Kelliher, managing director, | said the hotel trade and brewing industry had to contend with abnormal conditions, over which the directors had no control. The present unsatisfactory resiilts were due to. loss of the community's purchasing power, the tremendous direct and indirect taxation suffered by the trade, and the difficulties involved in establishing a large business. Had the company, during its three years of existence, experienced anything like normal trading conditions, there was every reason .to assume _that results would have been highly satisfactory. "If there is the slightest improvement in general conditions and the relief , the trade is justly entitled to, the future results will be entirely different," said Mr. Kelliher. "It is our misfortune that we had to meet great difficulties during .the early stages of our existence." ~ Messrs. G. Jackson and J. P. Molloy were elected to the directorate. The retiring directors were Messrs. Molloy and Reimers.