BASE METAL PROFITS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22847, 30 September 1937, Page 7

BASE METAL PROFITS

NORTH BROKEN HILL

EARNINGS EXCEED £900,000

COMPANY'S RECORD DIVIDEND

The not profit of North Broken Hill. Limited, for the year elided June 30 is £910,627. according to advice received by tlie Auckland Stock Kxehange yesterday. This compares with £0130,910 in 1936 and £390,683 in 1935. The final dividend ami bonus for the year, amounting to 2s a share, is payable to-day. The total distribution for the year is 6s a share, equal to 120 per cent, the highest ever paid by the company. The rate compares with 77i per cent in 1935-36. The present market lor the os shares is around 7ls 6d.

The company is engaged in mining load, silver and zinc at Broken Hill, New South Wales, while it holds shares and debentures in a wide range of other metal and industrial companies.

Production, based on the monthly returns for the last two years, compares as follows:

]I)3.V3H 3030-37 Lend (tons) .. .">S,I t'J 59,371) Silver «>z.) .. 3,2."i1,-_U4 3 1 31 , _' 1 03t Zinc (tons) .. -10,673 30,1-3

The riso in profits for the year provides further indication of tho benefits to the Australian base-metal companies from the higher level of metal prices. In the company's 1935-36 year lead averaged £l6 4s 6d a ton,_ whilo the average price for June, 1937, was £22 16s 4d a ton. In recent months metal prices have boon below the peak levels of the year, but remain substantially higher than the average levels of 1936. BUOYANT REVENUE BRITISH EXCHEQUER LATEST WEEKLY RETURNS (Received September 20, 0.5 p.m.) British Wireless RUGBY, Sept. 28 Tho continued buoyancy of tho revenue is indicated in receipts totalling £7,441,570 last week against £5,595,965 in tho Corresponding week in 1936. The latest Exchequer returns also show that tho total ordinary revenue amounts to £300,315,625 compared with £274,888,235 at the corresponding date last year. Tho total expenditure, loss selfbalancing items, is £392,922,881 compared with £364,149,689 at the corresponding date in 1936. FINANCE CORPORATION » OPERATIONS IN WAIKATO BETTER POSITION SHOWN [from our own cohrkspondknt] HAMILTON, Wednesday The position of tho company had greatly improved in tho last few years, due to better prices for dairy produce, improved farming methods, and greater equity in the securities on which advances were made, said Mr. P. H. Saxton, chairman of directors of the Finance Corporation of New Zealand, Limited, at the annual meeting to-day. Loans had shown a reduction of 36 per cent from September, 1932, to May, 1937. Reserves had been increased, and the company was now in a fairly good position. With the exception of the Strathmoro estate, farm properties held by tho company had improved, and tho profits earned were more than sufficient to pay interest on the total outlay to date. Several properties had been sold at prices in excess of tho amount shown in the books. Other properties held would bo sold as soon as possiblo. The discounting of radio hire purchaso agreements had not proved satisfactory, and £SS3 had been written off on account of bad debts. Referring to the Stratlnnore estate at Reporoa, tho chairman said a considerable amount of money had been spent on improvements. The report and balance-sheet, published in the Hkrat.u on September 20, wero adopted. The retiring directors, Messrs. W. C. Dixon, S. J. Sheaf and R. Kay, were re-elected.

EXCHANGE ON LONDON

RESERVE BANK RATES REASON FOR £1 MARGIN The annual report of the Reserve Hank of New Zealand, presented to Parliament on '1 ucsdav night, remarks that the rates at which the hank had been prepared to pay its notes in storling and to issue notes in exchange for gold or sterling had remained unchanged at £125 and £124 respectively Now Zealand, for £IOO sterling, after which it adds: —"When the Reserve Bank originally fixed its buying and selling rates, a margin of £1 was decided upon to allow a certain amount of latitude for the trading banks to operate between those limits. It was assumed that the trading banks might wish to accelerate or to discourage purchases of sterling from their customers from time to time, according to the state of their London funds, and that in certain circumstances they might be prepared to pay a slightly higher price for sterling than at other -times.

"A similar movement upwards and downwards wrthin the outside limits takes place, of course, in the market rates of exchange of countries on the Hold standard, and it appears to the board to be desirable that the banks trading in the Dominion should be able to alter their buying and selling rates for sterling within the outside limits set by the Reserve Bank without affecting the basic rate, and, moreover, without undue signilicaneo attaching to any such restricted movements."

SYDNEY WOOL SALES

RISE IN CROSSBREDS CONTINENT MAIN BUYERS (Received September 29, 0.(5 p.m.) SYDNEY, Sept. 21) At the Sydney wool sales to-dav 10.-187 bales were offered and 5)600 wore sold. Also 788 bales were sold privately. Continental buyers wore tho chief operators with good support from Bradford. Comebacks and crossbreds sold in sellers' favour and at times wore 5 per cent above yesterday's rates. Greasy Merino sold to 22jd.

LAST SEASON'S WHEAT FINAL THRESHING RETURNS The final wheat returns for the 1030-37 season in New Zealand are recorded in the latest Abstract of Statistics. The area for threshing was 221,700 acres, against 252,423 acres in the 1D.'55-36 season. The total crop was 7,168.903 bushels, against 8,50!).223 bushels, and the yield an acre 32.32 bushels, against 35.03 bushels.