CABLES AND WIRELESS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20618, 17 July 1930, Page 11

CABLES AND WIRELESS.

BENEFITS OP MERGER.

LOSS TURNED TO PROFIT.

STATEMENT BY PRESIDENT.

By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright,

(Received July 16, 5.45 p.m.) LONDON, July 15

At a crowded, excited and noisy annual meeting of Cables and Wireless, Ltd., Mr. J. C. Deriison-Perider, president, said it was obvious that the position of the company would have been much more serious if they had continued in competition with tlie Post Office, operating the beam wireless system, during fhe depressed economic conditions all over tTfd world which had been experienced since the merger. He did not think it too much to say that the Imperial and International Communications Company's profits in both groups would have been wiped out. The. Post Office beam services figures showed how beneficial the merger had been. For the first 18 months of the period under review, when the services were being operated on one account by the Post Office, the loss was £82,800, whereas for the last three months there was a small profit. Continuing, the president said it was certain that with a revival of trade there would be a revival of the telegraphic revenue, but until that revival occurred it would be misleading to hold out any hope of real improvement. The result had been frankly disappointing. They had had the misfortune to run against an unprecedented period of trade depression at the moment when they were reorganising a world-wide telegraphic service. Eighty per cent, of the telegraphic revenue was in respect to commercial traffic. Cables would continue to phjy an important part in world communication. *

The report and accounts were adopted.