COMMERCIAL

Greymouth Evening Star, 9 December 1940, Page 9

COMMERCIAL

STOCKS AND SHARES. WELLINGTON, December 9. Sales: Commercial Bank 15/- (2), Bank of Australasia £8 12/6, Bank of New South Wales £3O, Taupiri Coal 21/-. HUME STEEL. WELLINGTON, December 9. The Stock Exchange has received cabled advice that the Hume Steel, Ltd., nett profit is £60,800, before providing £31,000 for taxation. The dividends recommended are 3g- per cent, on preference shares and 2-| per cent, on ordinary shares. NATIONAL TOBACCO CO. The directors’ report states: There is no need fox- dwelling in detail upon the many difficulties experienced by us in the course of last year’s operations; we.have shared them with the rest of the New Zealand business world. Import restrictions and lack of dollar exchange were mainly responsible for the short supply of certain material and goods used in the manufacture of oux' tobacco and cigarettes. This shortage extends to all kinds of paper, cardboard and kindred packing material, however, with the aid of the local papex’ mills we managed to keep

going and the “get up” of our packets and tins has suffered very little in consequence. Though there is a dearth of almost every kind of raw material that has to be imported from overseas, we are particularly fortunate in having been able to secure ample supplies of New Zealand grown leaf that forms the basis of our manufacture.- This ‘season has produced an exceptionally (ine crop and we are therefore in the position to maintain the high quality standard for which our brands are known throughout New Zealand. A pleasing feature in the past year’s trading is the further rise and progress of our cigarettes. They have made another jump. Their sales have increased by nearly 50 per cent, compared with the previous year and now rank high among the best sellers in the Dominion. That is a remarkable achievement in the short time since we started the manufacture of cigarettes, and considering the tremendous opposition we had to fight. That our combined turnover of" tobacco and cigarettes has again been highy satisfactory, is demonstrated by the amount of excise duty we have paid, and which represents a total of ovex - £300,000 for the year. It means that this Company is contributing to the State at the rate of„ £ 1,200 for every working day in the year, in the form of excise duty alone, not counting income tax, social security and the many other taxes. Surely as a revenue producer our industry is second to none. . The Company has made a free of interest loan .to the Government, for the purpose of war expenses, and this ha: recently been converted into an equivalent amount of war loan stock.

Looking at the figures of the balance sheet, it will be seen that the total assets are higher by £17,320 —at £355,008, but this increase is practically absorbed by the larger reserves i we had to make for taxes and which amount in'all to £26,044 compared with £ 10,093 of the previous Balance (Sheet. Stocks are up by £31,619 — at £132,479, and advances on purchases by £32,418 —at £34,109. Cash is down by £47,276—at £41,317. Financially the Company has maintained its strong, position with highly 'liquid assets. In keeping with our 'larger turnover, our profits havd grown from £16,454 to £24,727, but this gain is entirely wiped out by the additional taxes we have to provide for. Deducting income tax, social and national security of a total of £17,144, we are left with only £7,582 as the net profit for the year, not enough to pay the usual dividend. However, in iview of the Company’s large reserves, directors recommend the distribution of the same dividend as last year, namely 8 per cent, on the preference shares and 10 per cent, on the. ordinary shares, and as this will absorb £8,659 in excess of the’ available' profits, to ’draw for this shortage on the Reserve Account.

| BLACKBALL CREEK. ' The Blackball Creek dredge return last week was 38 ounces, for 125 hours’ . work. A MAORI GOLD, LTD. Hopes that dredging operations will meet with success when resumed in : January are expressed in the annual report of Maori Gold Ltd., to be presented to the general meeting at Gr.ey- ■ mouth. i After reviewing difficulties at Callaghans, where dredging started on February 17, in getting equipment 1 suitable for the hard ground, the report stated that the company had incurred a total liability’of £4705. After further negotiations, an assurance had been giyen that the Mines Department would advance £lOOO if the company found £lOOO. The latter sum would be found by four Greymouth directors with the assistance of the dredgemastei’ and a Greymouth shareholder. There was, the report stated, a good deal of leeway to be made up, but if the area could be dredged with new equipment orHared buckets’* and if jthe, ground lived up to results shown by boring, it should not be long before the company was again clear of debt. For the nine months to the end of

the financial year On December 31, 1939, the income was from rents, interest, and fees only, and there was a loss of £503/10/5, without making provision for depreciation of fixed assets. Allowing for a balance of £2lB/6/- brought forward to the credit of the profit and loss account of the previous year, this account was in debit last December 31 to the extent of £2BB/4/5.