TRAM COMPANY

Evening Star, Issue 19519, 29 March 1927, Page 4

TRAM COMPANY

DUNEDIN AND KAIKGRAI SHAREHOLDERS ' ANNUAL MEETING. The annual meeting of the Dunedin and Kaikorai Tram Company, Ltd., was held in the Salvation Army Hall, Highgate, Roslyn, last night. Mr Alex. Sligo, chairman of directors, presided over an attendance of about thirty. STATISTICS' SHOW SUCCESS. The thirty-second annual report showed that the traffic receipts for the year totalled £13,290, which indicated an increase of £47 over the return for 1926. The cam ran 36,704 trips, covering in all 82,584 miles, carrying 669,043 down and 883,676 up passengers, showing an increase of 13,590 passengers over the preceding year. An interim dividend was declared at the rate of 10 per cent, nor annum for the halfyear ended July 31, 1926, and a further dividend at the rate of 10 per cent, per annum was recommended for the half-year ended January 31, 1927. Also it had been recommended that the sum of £SOO be transferred from appropriation account to reserve account, which would then stand at £IO,OOO. THE CHAIRMAN’S REVIEW.

Mr Sligo referred with regret to the death of Mr Duncan Thomson, who had been a member of the company in its earliest clays. He said he thought the statement presented was a very good one. The work done in all departments in connection with the company ,had boon exceedingly satisfactory. The plant was being brought right up to date by repairs and alterations, and the lino kept in very line condition. To-day the laying of a Huo would cost twice as much as°the present Kaikorai line had done, and if the City Corporation wanted the old one it must pay for the company’s assets and not the capital. The cars had been overhauled and made as good us new. The plant had been particularly well cured for, and a new gear wheel was recently put in. Whereas the old gear wheel had made a noise to “wake the dead,” now one could go into the wheelhouso and be heard in a whisper. When the company took 200 Exhibition shares it was realised that a good hit of the outlay would be returned in fares, though the shares had been wisely included with the liabilities. In the first year £l5O was written down, but the Exhibition bad paid 16s Id in tho £, so altogether a nice little piofit was represented. The cash reserves were almost equal to half the capital, thanks to the adoption of the sane practice of not paving away too much from profits and keeping future advancements well in view. A request had come from Wakari that the company should run a bus to and from that district, but the bedrock cost was something like Is 7d per mile, which was too high. Further, nineteen passengers would have to be carried on each trip to and from Wakari to warrant the provision of a bus. To hire a bus would cost £32 a week. The proposal was impossible from the point of view of the company. Tho shareholders bad no reason to fear the future. If the company had only a stiff enough hack to tell the corporation to go to Hongkong, it would make quite a good deal at tho finish. Mr Sligo then moved tho adoption of the report and balance-sheet. ACCIDENT ASSURANCE.

Mr H. L. Sprosen seconded the motion. In reply to a question lie was told that £I,OOO was the amount of accident assurance on passengers, £SO being the premium. The company was responsible for only up to £SOO on one person. Mr Sprosen stated that to his mind the company should spend more on cover for passengers. ft was explained that the directors did not think the risk was worth the premium for more cover, and that the substantial reserve could be drawn on if a big accident occurred ami the amount ol the policy proved insufficient. DIVIDEND DISCUSSION. Mr J. Moir stated that lie bad been struck by the great increase of the liquid assets of the company. Lately the company had been earning money at a very rapid rate. Pretty regularly £SOO a year had been added to the reserve fund, and the company paid 10 per cent, for the past two years. He wondered if the dividend could be increased to 12 per cent. Mr E. Sunderland, who supported Mr Moir’s remarks, said the dividend had averaged (ho thought) only 5\ per cent, for the first twenty-seven years. The shareholders, having been content with the small dividend at thfi'start, wore entitled to get more now that the company was in a satisfactory state. The 4,000 unallotted shares might be distributed amongst them, and the dividend continued at 10 per cent. It would run out at a fraction over 13 per cent. Some applause followed Mr Sunderland’s expressions. “ Five per cent, was a jolly good dividend years ago,” the Chairman remarked. , ■ , , Mr Sprosen said that he thought 10 per cent, was particularly good. Continuance of the ' society’s policy was agreed upon. OTHER MATTERS.

The directors’ fees were fixed at £l5O, for division as they thought tit, and auditors’ remuneration at £ls 15s. Messrs A. Sligo and J. A. Ainge were re-elected to the directorate, and Messrs Barr, Hercus, and Co. were reappointed auditors, The sum of £5 5s was voted to the War Memorial fund.