COMMERCIAL

Evening Star, Issue 21081, 19 April 1932, Page 5

COMMERCIAL

THE SHARE MARKET DUNEDIN STOCK EXCHANGE. Four parcels of Golden Point shares changed hands at 4jd at this morning’s meeting of tho Dunedin Stock Exchange. No sales were reported. There was no response to a selling quotation of £9 5s for Bank of Australasias. Buyers of Commercial Banks improved to 15s lid, but no seller quoted less than 14s Id. More interest was taken in the loan and agency section, sellers asking £2 2s 6d for National Mortgages, £4O for Loan and Mercantiles, and 15s 3d for Wright, Stephensons (pref.). The only buyer offered £1 Is 6d for Goldsbrough, Morts. Sellers of Farmers’ Fertilisers eased to 12s 9d without a buyer. ' Otago Daily Times ’ had a seller at £2 Is. New Zealand Breweries were again offered at £1 4s with a buyer bidding £1 3s. After the sales of Golden Points the market closed with a further buyer at 4d and sellers at sd. Tho Government Bonds and Stocks again came in for good inquiry. Sales on ’ChangeGolden Point, 4jd (four sales). Quotations as under:—

DIVIDENDS DUE. Stock. Amount. Period. Date. Kaitangata Coal Is 6d April T 9 Electrolytic Zinc (pref.) ... 9 3-5 d interim April 14* N.Z. Guarantee Corp. 2d interim April Woohvorth’s (pref.) 10 4-5 d interim April Mosgiel Woollen Co. 3s 2 2-Ed interim May 12 E.S. and A. Bank Is 9 3-5 d interim May 2 *Datc payable in Melbourne. SYDNEY STOCK EXCHANGE. Press Association—By Telegraph—Copyright. SYDNEY, April 18. On the Stock Exchange there was moderate business, and the tone of the market was satisfactory. The following sales were reported:— Bonds.—4 per cent. (1938), £95 12s 6d; 4 per cent. (1941), £94 2s 6d; 4 per cent. (1944), £9l 18s 9d; 4 per cent. (1955), £9l 7s 6d; 4 per cent. (1959), £9O. Bank of New South Wales, £2B 15s; Commercial Bank of Sydney, £ls 10s; Queensland National Bank, £5. Colonial Sugar, £43; Mercantile Mutual Insurance, 12s 3d; Burns, Philp, 39s 7-Jd; Adelaide Steam, 17s lOJd; Goldsbroughs, 24s 4Jd; British Tobacco, 30s 3d; Australian Gas (A), £5 15s; Carlton Brewery, 30s; Tooth’s, 26s 3d; Toohey’s, 16s 9d; Winchcomhe, Carson, 19s; Dunlop Perdriau, 10s lid; South Broken Hill, 42s 6d; Broken Hill North, 625; Taranaki Oil, 10d. AUSTRALIAN STOCKS. Pres* Association—By Telegraph—Copyright. LONDON, April 18. (Received April 19, at 10.5 a.m.) Australian stocks have weakened all round. Commonwealth fives are quoted at £B6 10s and sixes at £95 12s 6d. Several State stocks have declined 40s to 80s. PRICE OF GOLD. Press Association—By Telegraph—Copyright. LONDON, April 18. (Received April 19, at 11 a.m.) Line gold is quoted at £5 9s 9d per

P. AND 0. SHARES. Press Association—By Telegraph—Copyright. LONDON, April 18. (Received April 19, at 10.5 a.m.) P. and 0., IGs Bid. LONDON WOOL SALES. Press Association—By Telegraph—Copyright. LONDON, April IS. (Received April 19, at 10.5 a.m.) At the wool sales 7,588 bales were offered, including 4,418 from New Zealand. Approximately 5,867 hales were sold. There was good general competition and the offerings were cleared better than last weeik. There was a steadier tone, prices in some instances tending in sellers’ favour. New Zealand cross-bred “Ototoa” top Sid, average 7d; scoured pieces, “CPK,” top 13|d, average ll)d. The Bradford market is not seriously tested, users being very cautious. GRAIN AND PRODUCE. Messrs Donald Reid ami Co. report : Oats.—The inclement weather is interfering with threshing operations, and samples -/are arriving spasmodically. Heavy grade Gartens are in most demand, and the milling industry is accounting for tho bulk of offerings. A grade Gartens are worth 3s; B grade 2s lOd, sacks extra, on truck country stations. A little more is generally obtainable for extra choice Jots. Wheat.—Samples are slackening a little. The bulk of Otago Central wheat is now marketed, and the weather is delaying southern deliveries. Millers are accepting all suitable lines at ruling rates—viz., 4s BJd for Tuscan, 4s IOJd for Hunter’s, and 5s OJd for Pearl Velvet, f.o.b. nearest port. Fowl wheat appears to bo in short supply, but it is too early yet to make an accurate forecast. In the meantime sales are being made at prices ranging from 4s Cd to 4s 8d f.o.b.

Potatoes.—Main crop digging will be Commencing at any time now, and contracts for April and May delivery will be having attention. There are odd trucks arriving, and these are selling at £4 10s per ton, sacks in, ex truck, or £5 ex store. There is a fair amount of blight about, and lines showing traces have to be sold at once at less money. Chaff.—Odd trucks arriving are not meeting with much inquiry. Local feeders are only buying ju small quantities. There is more natural feed available this year than has been the case for some considerable time. Best oaten sheaf chaff is worth from £4 10s to £4 15s ex truck, or £5 ex store, sacks extra. Messrs Dalgety and Co. Ltd. report as follows: Oats.—The demand continues good for oats, which during last week were offering freely. Millers are keen buyers of all heavy lines at about 3s per bushel on trucks. Shippers are offering the same prices with 2s lOd on trucks for B’s. Wheat. —There is no difficulty in placing lines of milling quality at the fixed prices, which are:—4s BJd (f.0.b.) for Tuscan, 4s 10|d (f.0.b.) for Hunters, 5s Old (f.0.b.) for Velvet. The above prices are subject to the usual deductions for brokerage, f.o.b. charges, and Id per bushel which goes to the equalisation fund to be established by the Wheat Marketing Association. The demand for fowl wheat has eased slightly, current value being up to 4s 8d (f.0.b.) for good whole quality. Chaff.—Only occasional consignments have been coining to hand, but these have been ample for the local demnad, which in these days is easily supplied. Prime quality is selling at up to £4 15s per ton (ex truck), with £5 obtainable ex store in small quantities. Potatoes.—Digging is now fairly general, and from reports to hand crops arc. yielding well. This year a fair quantity has been sold forward for shipment which will tend to prevent the local market from being over-supplied with consignments during the first few wceks of digging. The present value of good "tables is £4 10s per ton (ex truck). AUSTRALIAN MUTUAL PROVIDENT, The eighty-third annual report of the directors of the Australian Mutual Provident Society, covering the twelve mouths ended December 31, 1932, records a very successful year. _ New assurances were effected totalling £8, n '3,510 in the ordinary depai’tment, and £2,657,324 in the industrial department. Death claims in the two departments were £2,230,006 and £76,868 respectively, and claims by maturity totalled £1,429,043 and £607,938. The rate of interest realised on the mean funds was £5 8s 4d per cent., while the expenses rates in both departments, excluding taxes, were kept at a very low figure. Taxation paid during the year by the two departments combined amounted to no less than £702,377 7s 3d, a very large increase over the amount paid in 1930. In conformity with the conservative policy which has always characterised this society’s operations in the past, the directors have made further reserves on a most drastic basis, the total reserves for contingencies and taxation now standing at no less than £2,413,103. Nevertheless, the actuary’s report discloses a cash surplus of £2,468,817 available for distribution in the ordinary department, and £233,998 in the industrial department. Reversionary bonus additions to existing policies in the ordinary department will thus approach £4,370,000, and will be only slightly below those allotted the previous year, notwithstanding the heavy additional reserves. The cash surplus to be divided

in the ordinary department is actually equivalent to a return of 45.8 per cent, on the premiums received, during tho year on participating policies. The total assets of the society now exceed £86,000,000, of which over £15,000,000 is invested in New Zealand, thus showing in a very definite and practical manner the confidence which tho directors have in tho future of tho dominion. BOVRIL AUSTRALIAN ESTATES. Explaining an item, “ Interest in subisidary companies,” in the balancesheet for 1931 of Bovril Ltd., the chairman (Lord Luke) stated at the animal meeting held in London that shares stood at £112,372, as against £49,212, whilst debentures, which had stood at £125,940, did not now appear in tho accounts. The latter, he said, were debentures of Bovril Australian Estates Ltd. The parent company had agreed to take up preferred ordinary shares in the Australian subsidiary, on condition that £65,940 in debentures was paid off. It might seem an unusual course to take preferred ordinary shares instead of debentures; br.t if one had all of tho debentures and a full majority of the whole of the shares, it was not very material whether they were called debentures or preferred shares, and the change improved the appearance of the balance-sheet. Bovril Australian Estates, the chairman added, now ran cattle estates of many million acres in the Commonwealth, and another subsidiary, Argentine Estates of Bovril Ltd., carried on similar services in Argentina, A reduction of £265,773 in the item slocks of cattle, raw material, and manufactured products it home and abroad in the balance-sheet of the parent organisation was attributable partly to depreciation in oversea stocks, duo largely to the collapse and difficulties of exchange. Advertising all over the world, Lord Luke added, had cost about the same amount as in the previous year, and seemed to have been as effective as usual in keeping up' sales, in spite of conditions, which could not be called normal.

Buyers. Sellers. £ s. d. £ s, d. BANKING.— Bank of Australasia 9 5 0 Bank of N.S.W. ... 25 0 0 Bank of New Zealand 2 3 2 — Commercial Bank ... 0 13 11 0 14 1 E.S. and A. Bank... 4 0 0 — National Bank of Australasia 10 2 6 Union Bank of Australia Ltd 6 10 0 INSURANCE— National Insur. Co. 0 12 1 Standard Insur. Co. 1 12 6 1 19 0 SHIPPING— Huddart, Parker (ord.) 110 P. and 0. Deferred Stock 1 1 6 U.S.S. Co. (pref.) ... 0 19 10 — COALKaitangata Coal (cum div.) 0 0 9d Westport Coal Co. (cum refund on . capital) ... , 0 17 6 1 0 0 LOAN AND AGENCYGoldsbrough, Mort ... 116 _ National Mortgage ... — 2 2 6 N.Z. Loan and Mercantile (ord.) 40 0 0 Wright, Stephenson (pref.) _ 0 15 3 MEAT PRESERVING— N.Z. Refrigerating (cont.) 0 4 2 0 4 5 MISCELLANEOUS— Australian Iron and Steel (pref.) 1 10 0 British Tobacco 16 4 1 6 10 Crystal Ice Co. 1 1 3 — D.I.C. (ord.) — 0 12 3 D.I.C. (pref.) 0 19 6 — Dominion Rubber ... — 0 6 0 Donaghy’s Rope and Twine 18 0 _ Eclipse Petrol — .0 3 0 Mjlburu Lime and Cement 1 17 3 MT.eod Bros 22 0 0 — National Electric ... — 0 9 0 N.Z. Drug Co. 2 5 0 — N.Z. Farmers’ Fertiliser _ 0 12 9 N.Z. Paper Mills 0 18 0 — ‘ Otago Daily Times ’ — 2 1 0 BREWERIES— N.Z. Breweries Ltd. 13 0 1 4 0 N.Z. Breweries Debs. 1 0 0 — MINING— Kawarau 0 0 4 0 0 7 Wailu 0 16 5 0 17 0 Waihi Grand June. 0 3 5 — Mount Lyell 0 18 4 — Molyneux Electric ... 0 0 6 0 4 0 Mahakipawa 0 0 2 0 0 4 Kildare — 0 1 10 Ukarito 0 9 3 0 9 1 Paddy’s Point 0 3 0 0 3 10 Cornish Point (paid) — 0 0 2 Golden Progress 0 2 9 0 3 3 King Solomon 0 1 1 — Golden Point 0 0 4 0 0 5 Gclden Terrace — 0 4 6 Blackwater — 0 7 0 Consolidated Goldfield 022 — WAR BONDS(Bonds quoted are £100 Bonds.) 1938 4£ p.c. Bonds... 93 10 0 — 1959 4£ p.c. Bonds ... 94 0 0 — 1938 41 p.c. Insc. ... 93 10 0 — 1939 4£ p.c. Insc. ... 93 15 0 — 1933 5i p.c. S.S. Bonds 98 0 0 — 1933 p.c. S.S. Insc. 98 0 0 98 15 0 1936 5j- p.c. Bonds... 98 0 0 — 1936 5£ p.c. Insc. ... 93 0 0 — 1937 p.c. Bonds (February) 98 2 6 . 1937 54 p.c. Bonds (September) 98 2 6 — 1937 5g p.c, Inscribed (February) 98 0 0 1937 5£ p.c. Inscribed (September) 98 0 0 —