COMMERCIAL.

Evening Star, Issue 14784, 27 January 1912, Page 5

COMMERCIAL.

At the annual meeting of the Xew Zealand Portland Cement Company the retiring directors were reelected, and Messrs W. R. llolnies and J. Brown were reappointed auditors. A vote of thanks was accorded the staff for their services during the year. At a meeting of the "shareholders of the Dunedin Starr-Rowkett last', night the 245 th appropriation of £SOO in Xo. I .group fell to' Xo. 107, held by two shareholders. There being no buyers for the 246 th appropriation it was also offered by ballot, and was drawn by three slui re holders. The tilth appropriation of £SOO in Xo. 2 group w;ig drawn bv cluster Xo. 91 (held by two shareholders), and the 112 th 'appropriation realised £lO per oenl. The filth appropriation of JJSCO in Xo. 3 group was unuvn by cluster 45 (one sharehoki-'r) : and the" sixth appropriation, also of £SOO. realised an average of £29 per cent. .Mr Cohen, who presided, remarked that o;\ this oceasi.m the society had touched the high-water level oi their operations hi bein.; able to dispose of £'3.(aa) at one appropriation meeting. MOXF.Y AND MARKETS. Press Association—By Telegraph—Copyright. LOXDOX, January 26. —Bank Returns and 'Discounts. — The- Bank of England returns show the stock of gold coin and bullion to be £37.019.000; reserve, £28.652.000; proportion of reserve to liabilities, 48.70 per cent. The note? in circulation total £27.811.000; public deposits, £19.657,0.0; other deposits. £39.214,000; Government securities. £15,270.000; other securities, £32.970.000. The Bank rate of discount is 4 per cent. Short loans are discounted at 37 per cent., and three montlis' bills as follow : —London 3 M-16 jkt cent.; Park-, 3 per rent. ; Berlin, 3' n per eent. Consols arc; i|uote<l at £77 7s 6d. —Colonial Stocks.— The following are the quotations for colonial Government, stocks, compared with those ruling a week previous : —• Jan. 19. Jan. 26. Xo-.v Smith Wales i's 105 i 105; New Pouth Wales 3i'= 99 93 New .South Wales 3's 87 87 Victorian 4's 103 4 101J Victorian 3','s 961 06, Victorian 3's Stj 84; Queensland 4's 102 102 Queensland 3'.'s 9 f o', 96Jj Queensland 3's ... : 3<C 84A South Australian st's 97 97 South Australian 3's 80 80 New Zealand 4's 103 105 Ne«- Zcalund 3.','s 97-'. 97J, New Zealand 3's 87i 871 Tasniaiuaii 3\'s 9GA 96 T.isniauian 3's 85 85 West Australian 3J's 95J 95J West Australian 3's 87 87 --Wheat, Flour, and Oats.— Wheat. : The markets are quiet, and buyers are indifferent. The preliminary official estimate of the Argentine crop is 4.642.000 tons. The stun of 37s 6d is asked for South Australian, November shipment, sis 3d for March shipment, and 57s 3d for Victorian loading, while 36s 1-Jd has been paid for a parcel of Australian, January-February shipment. There is a quiet demand for Australian spot at 38s. Flour : The market is steady. Australian patent brands, ex store, 25s 6d. Oats : The market is quiet. La Plata, January-February shipment, 16s 6d. —Butter, Cheese, and Bacon.— ButteT : The market is dull, buyers having abstained from operating to the utmost poiV.ible extent. Clioi rest Australian. 126s to 128t-. and occasionally 130s; Xew Zealand. 130s to 1345. Some of the Victorian and Xew South Wales butter is showing si'ins of heat at the time of manufacture. Cheese : The market is quiet. New Zealand, 72s to 735. liacon : In fair demand. Australian, 44s to 50s. —Metals.— Copper : Spot and three months, £62 2s 6d ; electrolvtie, £65 7s 6d. Tin: SdoL £194; three mouths, £192. Lend, £ls 12s fid. Spelter, £26 10s. Ph iron, 495. Wolfram, 29s 3d. —Suear. — German. 15s 2d; first marks, 17s 4d. —Wool.The Bradford wool market ie dull, and prices are unchanged.. UNION STEAM SHIP COMPANY. Criticieuig the report and balance-sheet of the Union Steam Ship Company, Mr Alex. Jobson, in an article in the Sydney 'Sun,' save :—" Though the profit of £116,431 earned by this company in the September, 1911, year shows an increase of £11,600 over the previous period, it is not quite as high a profit as one might have expected, having regard to the great prosperity of the Commonwealth and Xew Zealand. Probably few perrons, however, accept tho published figures as being the actual total of net profit, for at times the earnings show extraordinary rices, not to bj accounted for bv anv normal growth in profits. In 1904, 'for 'instance. £129.928 w;us admitted-£39.000 more than 1903, and £33,000 above. 1905. Then, again, 1907 earned £144,324, though 1506 showed tome £60.000 kts, and 1908 over more; while in the following year there wa.s an unaccountablo drop of ovor £143,000. Ihese variations arise from no natural growth, but arc created by the will of the company's directorate. The whole profit of £116,451 was not, of course, admitted, only £64,958 being ehown in tile profit and lets aecount. A sum of £51.473, added to the insurance fund during the year, accounted for tho balance. Of this latter gain, £8,334 was taken and, with £63,333 of the profit, applied to pay two half-yearly dividends averaging about 9 per cent, per aunurn. The balance of ,61,625 was added to the profit and hes account, raising it to £21,265. A far better index to this company's progress than its profit earnings is tho growth of its fleet and tho ship-building programme now in hand. Eleven years ago the tonivjfo of the. fleet was 77,738, with a bwk value, of £746,000, about £9 12s per ton. Now it is 175.858 tons, and the book value £L.187,382, only about £6 14s per ton There are, in addition, four new steamers building, whose, aggregate tonnage will bo 20,450, and "the progitw payments on which are included in tho above book valne, so that the actual value per ton i.s still less than £G 14s. The difference of almost £3 per ton on a- tonnago of about 176.000 works out at approximately £500.000. not very far short of half the." present book vnluo. The company must have been doing very well indeed to Iw able to value its boats now at £500,000 hfs on tho average, than it did II years, ago. The company's programme of "new ships Is a. big one. and epeaks volumes for tho enterprise of tho directors, and also for the profit-earning power of the company, which warranto such ?.n advanced policy. The financial position of the company has improved materially in.;* the vear, for practically tho whole of the increase of £44.188 in the assets, to £1,969,954, was derived from profits. The throo groups of liabilities —debentures £161.538 (£162.938), voyages pending, etc., £21.411 (£22.092). and sundrv accounts £291,147 (£2B9,642)—have in "the aggregate dec!itied by £576. Of the total aescla, after paying the current dividend, tho shareholders own £1,455,876, over 75 per cent., which secures their paid-up capital of £BOO,OOO in £1 r-h.ires fully paid, reserve fund of £150,000, insurance fund £484,602, ami the profit and loss balance of £21,265. This surplus works- out rather better than that existing in 1910, being new 36s 5d per share ns against 35s then. Yet this improvement has scarcely impressed the share market at all. for the. shares selling at 41« in the middle, of 1911 are now changing hands at 39«, which contains only 2s 7d for goodwill and inner reserves. This is very low indeed, for it is only about £104,000, which is over I £32,000 below the net profits of £116,431 earned last year. The low dividend rate carriee more weight, for trt 39s tho yield !is only just over £4 12s per cent. Investors, too, perhaps, fear the possibility of competition reducing the company's earnings, though such a contingency ie I surely very remote."

GILT-EDGED SECURITIES. Press Association—By Telegraph—Copyright LOXDON, January 26. At a meeting of the London Joint Stock Bank, Lord St. Aklwyn stated.that nine of the largest London banks had written off £6,233,000 for depreciation in what were regarded as gilt-edged securities since 1903. The Joint Stock Bank had adopted the policy of investing in short-date bonds instead of in Consols. THE WOOL SALES. Press Association—By Telegraph—Copyright. LONDON, January 26. (Received January 27, at 10.25 ajn.) There v.-:is nood competition at lull rates for fine "merinos. The Americans kept to best cross-breds, but faulties were irregular.