CABLE COMPANY'S PROFITS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19383, 19 July 1926, Page 7

CABLE COMPANY'S PROFITS.

EASTERN TELEGRAPH CO. DIVIDEND OF 10 PER CENT. [from our own correspondent.] LONDON, June 15. At the annual meeting of the Eastern Extension Australasia and China Telegraph Company the chairman, Sir J. Denison-Pender, announced that the accounts showed a decrease in the gross revenuo as compared with the previous year of £20,334. The falling off was expected owing to the reduction of tariffs. That it was comparatively low was owing to a sensible increase of Straits Settlements traffic due to rubber conditions in that part of the world and a slight increase in tho volume of Australian and New Zealand traffic. "Ordinary working expenses," said the chairman, "are practically the same as those for last year. Expenses connected with the maintenance of cables and for income tax payable abroad show a decrease of £30,000 There is, however, an increase of £59,700 in the amount transferred to the maintenance ships' reserve fund. During the year under review the cable steamers Recorder and Magnet were sold and their capital cost, £57,791, less the amounts realised by their sale, was written of! the fund. In View of this large depletion of the ships' reserve the directors decided to place the above additional sum to the credit of the fund. On taxation payable in England there is a decrease of £56,754, consequent upon the reduction in the rate of tax, and also to the relief obtained from Dominion income-tax in respect of adjustments for previous years. The balance we have to deal with is £854,294, plus the carry-forward for 1924 of £409,140, making a total of £1,263,434. From tins sum £450,000 has been placed to the general reserve fund, £400,000 paid in dividends, and £413,434 has been carried forward." The chairman also announced that the duplication of the Cocos-Fremantle section by means of a "loaded" type of cable was successfully completed on March 15 last by the cable steamer Colonia. The new cable is, for the present, being utilised for traffic at only certain periods of the day, in order to allow of experiments being made toward obtaining reliable signals at its maximum speed of working. The report and accounts were adopted and the dividend of 10 per cent., free of income tax, paid for the year was approved.