NATIONAL TOBACCO.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 21049, 7 December 1931, Page 5

NATIONAL TOBACCO.

NET PROFIT OF £33,451. DIVIDEND OF 15 PER CENT. LOSS BY THE EARTHQUAKE. A net profit of £33,451 is shown ift the annual report and balance-sheet of tho National Tobacco Company, Ltd., Napier, for the year ended October 31. The gross profit from tobacco sold was £112,966, interest and transfer fees bringing the total receipts to £115,143. Expenses amounted to £63,474, including £16,000 allowed for income tax, and losses through the earthquake in February to £15,199, being £5363 on account of repairs to buildings and £9836 depreciation written off buildings. The sum of £3019 is also written off as depreciation on plant and machinery. .With £6231 brought forward from the previous year, there is availablo £39,690, from which tlie directors recommend the payment of a dividend of 15 per cent, on the ordinary shares and 8 per cent, on the preference, the transfer to reserve of £20,000, which will Lring the total in the account to £IIO,OOO, and to carry forward the balance of £IBO6. Commenting on the losses incurred hv the company through the earthquake, the chairman of directors, Mr. G. Hushcer, says: —"Our magnificent factory buildings, together with all our bond stores, were laid in ruins. Fortunately, except for one casualty, no lives were lost; we were also lucky in so far as we escaped the conflagration that was responsible for far greater destruction than tho earthquake itself. At the time huge stocks of raw leaf and manufacturing requisites were stored on our premises, none of which was damaged. Neither was there any irreparable damage done to plant and machinery. A new building was necessary. Building operations were started immediately and in less than six weeks, on March 15, the wheels of the same machinery were spinning round in a new factory more spacious than the old one. The total cost of the new factory, including building sites, amounts to £23,000. Besides, we spent £5362 on the repairs of the old factory, which was converted into a bond store. We haVe written down these buildings by £15,000 and this amount thus represents our direct losses through tho earthquake. "Disastrous as the earthquake has been in its consequences, there are other factors that have had a disturbinc influence upon our business," Mr. Husheer added. "I refer to the staggering blow the industry has received in the form of an additional impost on the locallymanufactured article. The increase in the excise duty from Is 8d to 3s per lb. has been followed, of course, by a corresponding increase ia the price to the smoker, and this, in combination with his reduced spending power, has resulted in a marked falling off in the consumption of tobacco all round." Following is a comparison of the company's results in the last three years:— 1929. 1930. 1931. Gross profit . . £96,103 £107,385 £115,143 Expenses . . 49,987 59,411 63,474 Depreciation . . 4,005 3,386 18,218 Net profit . . £42,311 £44,55S £33,451 Brought forward 5,0G5 4,526 6.231 £47,376 £49,111 £39,682 To reserve . . 25,000 25,000 20,000 Dividends— Preference . . 914 876 876 Ordinary, p.c. 15 15 15 Amount . . 16,936 17,000 17,000 Carried forward £4,526 £6,231 £1,806 SINGAPORE HUME PIPE. INTERIM DIVIDEND. [BY TELEGRAPH. —PRESS ASSOCIATION.] WELLINGTON, Sunday. A cablegram received by the secretary of the New Zealand Stock Exchange states that the Singapore Hume Pipe Company, Ltd., will pay a half-yearly dividend at the rate of i 0 per cent, per annum on December 19. At the end of the company's last year, in March, it paid a dividend of 10 per cent, per annum and a bonus of 5 per cent.