GEAR MEAT PRESERVING AND FREEZING COMPANY.

New Zealand Times, Volume XLVI, Issue 7673, 6 January 1886, Page 2

GEAR MEAT PRESERVING AND FREEZING COMPANY.

ANNUAL MEETING. The annual meeting of the Gear Meat Preserving and Freezing Company of New Zealand (Limited), was held at the Chamber of Commerce last night. There were about forty shareholders present, Mr J. S. M. Thompson, Chairman of Directors, presiding. The Chairman, in moving the adoption of the report and balance-sheet, said he would have to ask them to bear with him a little patiently. The balance-sheet was not such aa he or the other Directors would like to lay before them. Therefore, it was necessary to go into more details than if they had been able to declare a 20 per cent, dividend. A great and unexpected change had come over the value of all kinds of food exported from the Colony. The first item in the balance-sheet was the matter of capital. This year it was set down at L46.0C0, as against L 34,750 at the last annual meeting. Last year it had been the intention of tho Directors to call up only 10s per share, making the amount L 3 15s on each share. That would have been adhered to, but it was found necessary to increase their plant, and an additional call of 5s per share, equal to L 2250, had been made. That was not sufficiently adequate, but was enough to enable them to carry on satisfactorily. That. made the amount of calls equal to L 4 per share, which was much handier than L 3 15a. He was happy to say that tho way in which the Company’s business was financed would not render it necessary to make any further calls during the next 12 months. Even if the Directors entered into other manufactures, it would not be necessary to make any farther calls, not alone during the next 12 months, but afterward. The amount set down for sundry creditors this year was L 49,956, as against L 51.972 the previous year. In tho L 49,956 was included the L 30.000 loan referred to last year. A large portion consisted of the deficit on frozen meat and tallow, which had since been remitted. The Company’s business was in the shape of cash transactions, and they had no discounting of bills. The indebtedness of the Company, exclusive of the loan, was L 19.956. Last year the Directors had decided to take a risk of L2OOO or L 2500 on each shipment of meat. They had carried it out since then, and were perfectly satisfied with it, as the steamers were so admirably fitted up that the temperature could be almost depended on. The insurance reserve now amounted to LI36X. The Insurance companies had to pay a considerable amount on the Ruapehu’s shipment, and the Company lost L 390. If it hod not been for that loss, the Company would have saved over LI7OO. The insurance was a separate and distinct account, and was in no way mixed up with their other business. Had they not taken tho risks, they would have had to pay the whole amount to the insurance companies. He regretted to say that their claim on the shipment sent by the Florida had not yet been settled, and they were advised by their London agent that every obstacle was being thrown in the way of a settlement by the owners ot that vessel, though they had stated twelve months ago that they were willing to meet the Company amicably. The loss on the shipment by the Lady Jocelyn had been met by the insurance companies in an exceedingly liberal manner. He had received assistance from Mr Levin, who had gone with him to some of the agents. The propel ties of the Company had been set down at L 38.374, as against L 39,533 for the previous year. The differences arose in consequence of tha fires which took place in tha Company’s premises. A considerable amount of stock and plant had been lost, though the loss was not so large as on the buildings. He estimated that they had lost LIOOO Ia various ways through the fires; but their chief loss had resulted through the stoppage in tbeir business. When the fire took place on their Lambton-quay £ remises in July it had been decided by the directors to remove their plant to Petone, and carry on all their preserving business there, in connection with their freezing and slaughtering. It would be a great advantage to have the meat for preserving fresh from the slaughter - yards. Tho other buildings were for the tallow works, and they were so situated that a fire iu one was not likely to communicate to another building. They would have a better supply of water, and some stand-pipes would be erected ; whilst the hose used at the Exhibition had been purchased by the Directors, When the buildings were finished, he thought the Directors would take a larger insurance risk, as the insurance rates were so heavy. He had visited, with the Company's architect, Nelson Bros.* works at Tomoana, near Napier, which he believed to be the completes!: tallow works in the Colony, and also Messrs Williams and Beetham’a works at Masterton, so as to see what were the latest appliances. The buildings and plant were never in a better state of repair than at present, although nothing had been added on to the value on account of any repairs or small additions. The hulk Jubilee and the machinery now stood at L 18,046, against L 12,284 the previous year. The machinery had been increased, and the installations had been added to. The hulk was now capable of storing 10.500 sheep. They had frozen with the Meat Export Company last year 21,500 sheep. Had they been able to freeze that number, it would have left them a good profit. Besides, before the additions were made, they thought that the companies were not capable of freezing all the sheep that could be got in the district. It had been a. concern with the Directors as to the machinery going wrong. Therefore, they had decided to duplicate It, and could now do all that waa necessary. They had taken care to connect the machinery will} both boilers, so that If one went wrong they could proceed with the other. They had also introduced the electric light on board the Jubilee, which was an important consideration, aa It reduced the risk of fire, and was a great convenience to the men working on board. They had also connected the Jubilee with the water supply, so that in case of fire the vessel could be" deluged with water in a few minutes. The result of the machinery, os compared with the old, was very satisfactory. In one week in December they had frozen 3300 sheep, and delivered 11,000 into two outgoing vessels. That was more than could be done by any other Company in New Zealand. It was a remarkable fact that they could put sheep on board outgoing vessels without the carcases being in the slightest degree soft, as only a few minutes elapsed in the transfer from cha Jubilee to the frozen chamber of tha steamers. With 'moat other companies hours must elapse before that could be dofiei In consequence, some of the meat sent by other companies was quite soft, whilst the Company’s shipments were always landed in a satisfactory condition. The amount owing by sundry debtors was L 17.655, against L 14.446 the previous year. That waa to be accounted for by the fact that the Company was doing an increased business, especially fa SjdnelAcnlause.l Th« p~*-^s ary expenses were set down at X.6SI, against 1.304 the previous year. That was easily explained, as they were writing off one-sixth every year, and in a few years that item would disappear altogether. The unpaid calls were L 226, against Ll969 : tbs previous year, and to-day they were leas than L2OO. ' As a whole, the calls in the Company had been paid up promptly, and there was UO other Company that he was aware of in which calls were responded to more readily, ffhe cash balance at the head office waa set down at 1.569, as against L 303 for the previous year. That was accounted for by the fact that the 30th of November—at which date they made up their balance-sheet—was a bank holiday, T-se bank interest and discount waa ,1,3468, against L 4228 for the previous year, showing a decrease of L 760, which was partly due to the faht that they had more paid-up capital, and also because of the financial arrangements which they had made with their bankers, which enabled them to save about LSOO, principally in exchanges. Their banking

arrangements were of a most aatisfactqiy character. (Applause.) The . salaries this year amounted to L 1726, against L2U2 for the nrevious year, showing a decrease of and they expected to reduce that item to LU»uO, as the reductions made had not been on the whole year. The saving was cheated by dw* pensing with two clerks m Lambton-quay. Ihe Directors did not wish to overwork or underpay their staff. The d “ e , £ superior management, and to the fact that they had a Secretary who understood his business. (Applause.) They would recollect that Mr James Gear had been managing director of the Company, but shortly after his arrival at Home his medical advisers had told him that it was imperative he should give up all active live, and he had sent in his resignation. They had now no managing director The office expenses, rates, and taxes amounted to L 342, against L 290 the Dtevious year; but the difference was owing to the increase in the property tax. (Laughter.) He would like to say that the balance-sheet had been made up to the 30th November, and as they had cabled to London before doing so, the figures could not be altered, no matter what reduction might have taken place in prices afterward. The Company had brought up their meats to the highest standard of perfection, and they were in a position to get the highest prices obtainable. He would like to give some statistics relative to the manufactures of the Company. The preserving output in 1883 was 851,4961 b; in 1884, 744,8981 b; in 1880, 1 039,1381 b. There was no record m loon as to the number of bad and doubtful tins turned out by the Company, but in 1884 they had averaged 7« per cent., whilst in 1885 it had been reduced to 1? per cent. That was a result which he believed was not equalled by any company manufacturing preserved meats in the Colony. (Applause.) The man who had charge of that department took the greatest interest m his work, like all the other officers of the Company, and it was greatly due to him that such satisfactory results had been achieved. He believed there was nothing like it m the Australasian colonies. (Applause. ) W i thregard to tallow, the output in 1883 had been 1105 tons: in 1884, 1149 tons ;. in 1885,1020 tnnq The average values during the three years had been :—-Io 1883. L 37 15s per ton; 1884, L3G 2s Cd per ton ; 1885, L2B 14s 6d per tom In that period their export of tallow had decreased rather than increased, but that was to be set down to the fact that their boilingdown works had been at a (standstill; whilst there had been an increase in the frozen meat exported. With regard to the quality of the tallow, he could speak of it m the highly satisfactory manner he had done with regard to the frozen and preserved meat. (Applause.) As to the difference between the years 1?84 and 1883—L7 8s per ton—it represented to the Company L 7592, which had to be found out of some other source of profit during the year. The tallow they were sending Home was bringing the top price in the London market, as compared with anything sent from New Zealand or the Australian Colonies. (Applause.) So that they would see they could not improve on that product. The Directors had looked into the matter very closely, and some time ago they were inclined to start soap works, but after considering the matter they were doubtful whether soap-making could be earned on profitably. (Hear, hear.) They had written Home for particulars m reference to the manufacture of margarine and butterme, and also as to the cost of the necessary plant; but they were not yet satisfied that they could profitably enter into the manufacture of these products. In a few months they would have all necessary information, and would then be able to decide. He had taken some trouble t a get statistics in reference to the export of tallow, and found that for the year ending:3lst.October, 18S3 it amounted t022,0930a5k5; m 1884,22,022 casks; in 1885, 18.870 casks. So that they would see that boiling-down was becoming a thing of the past, Owing to the quantity of frozen mutton sent Home. The frozen meat sent Home by the Company for the three rears was as followsln 1883, 2255 carcases ; 1884 70,851 carcases; 1885, 93,694 carcases. In addition to this, a quantity of beef and some legs of mutton wore frozen and sent TTnme They would recollectthata considerable agitation had taken place throughout New Zealand with regard to a reduction in freight charges. The reduction of id per lb. madei m November, would represent a difference to »he Company of L 6621, so that very little would turn the tide of profit or loss in such a large business as they were engaged in. It would be interesting to shareholders to know the quantity of frozen sheep which had left the Colony for the three years ending 31st October In 1883, the number was 126,360 carcases; 1884, 408,346 carcases ; 1835 489,554 carcases. They would sea that there had been an increase in the frozen meat, whilst the boiling-down had become almost a dead letter. He did not know whether the low prices would start the boiling-down works again, but he hardly thought so. The prices per pound for New Zealand frozen mutton in London had been as follows for six months of the three years June. July. Aug. Sept, Oct. Nov. 1883 ... 7i 6i 6 6 5| 54 1384 ... 5 4J 4J 5 61 5J 1885 ... 5J 4 S 4 i 4 i 4 * 4 FOB ENGLISH MOTION. June. July. Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. 1885 ... 7i 6i ' 6i 5j 5i 5i They would see that there had been an enormous reduction in the price of frozen meat during the past three years, but more especially last year. The prices ha had quoted showed a large loss in the Company s operations during the last six months. Tallow had also shown a cmsiderable loss during the same period. The Directors could not possibly have foreseen that both frozen meat and tallow would have gone down as they had done. He was glad, however, to be able to state that New Zealand frozen mutton was coming into such favor that shareholders could hardly realise it m spite of all the opposition which it had had to encounter. That was due to the superior quality of the meat sent Home from this Colony. (Applause.) In June of last year there had been a difference of 2d per lb in the prices of .English and New Zealand frozen mutton, whilst in November there was only a difference of lid per lb, and prices were becoming more equalised every day. He 'and all the other Directors had been dissatisfied with the working of the retail shops, but they had lately got more light on this particuiar branch of their business. The butcher* iiig retail business had been conducted on a principle that never prevailed in any other country, and any business man carrying on business oh the'same principle Would be sure to come to grief. It used to be the object to slaughter as much meat as possible, in order to get the tallow, but that could no longer be permitted. Since Mr Gear had sold out to the Companytheprioeof tallowhadgone down from L 46 and L4B per ton, to L 26 and L2S per ton. They bad actually been selling mutton at a less price than they gave for it. But the Directors had interviewed the directors of the other Company, and a large, meeting had been held at which all the retail bntohers were represented. A price had been decided upon, which he was glad to say had since _ been adhered to, and which would show a fair margin of profit, such as had not been made during the past ten years. The Directors had made it a point that each department of the Company a business shouldpay onits ownbasia. (Hear,hear.) The Company had slaughtered, m_ 1883, 108.812 cattle, sheep, calves, and pigs; in 1881, 137,299; in 1885, 144,892. They bad had to look very closely into their buying operations Jn consequence of the low price, and they were now giving 25 per cent, less than they had been giving last year. Ha looked upon that as a calamity for the Wellington district and the whole Colony that prices were so low. The same remark applied to skins and hides, which were not fetching near so much as they were last year. The turn-over of the Company for the past year had been L2->O,OOO, of which L 132.000 had been paid for stock, L37,oqt) for freights, L 17.175 for wages (not including office), and L 2120 for coal. He would like to tell them the position of one or two other Companies, so that they might be able to draw their own comparisons. The Central Meat Export Company, Rockhampton—the largest Company in Queensland resolved on the 10th of November last to ask holders of bills to renew at sin months, and shareholders to increase their holdings 50 per cent. Meantime the Company has ceased work, owing to Increased stocks and the low price of tallow. The Australian Frozen Meat Company, Melbourne, had sustained a Joss of L 5859 for the half-year ending 30th September, ami for the previous half-year L 6704, or L 12.563 for the year. The total debit balance of tlw Company, which had since gone into liquidation, bad been L 43.756. The New Zealand Frozen Meat Company, Auckland, had paid no dividend, and was not working »t present; whilst at the annual meeting of Nelson Bros.’Coip; pany, held In London, with a paid-up capital of L 130,000, they had only been able to declare a six per cent, dividend. He did not make these remarks for the glorification of their own . Company, . . but to enable shareholders to judge. The figures were from the Australian Insurance and Banking Record. Mr Gear had been requested by the Directors to retain bis seat on the Board, and he had consented to do so. 'Though the business was not satisfactory, the Directors did not see how it could be improved on. They had given a very large amount of time to the business ot the Company, which ho believed was unusual in a public .company. T/iere .was ,po .necessity for ’ any panic ii) fh?’ share;;. He field the sqoond Jargcst number, and he did not intend to self bglow par. (Hear, hear.) The Directors hoped to be able to declare an interim dividend during the year. (Applause.) He begged leave to move the adoption of the report and balance-sheet. Mr Mackay seconded the motion. Mr Geo. Allen, who bad given notice of an amendment, to the effect that. the Directors should be asked to declare adividend of. 2J per cent for the half-year, asked leave, amidst applause, to withdraw it, after the admirabls imd lucid’ statement which had been, made by the (aairmhUi fi, *" "> ' ' '' i 6om.e diseussiop took plage in reference to the advisableneas of continuing the services of one of the buyers, who was also a innholder ; but after hearing the encorqiums passed upon him by the Chairman, Messrs Lovjn, Duthie, and Rev Mr Van Staveren, the meeting appeared satisfied. ' In answer to Mr Burns, the Chairman said the Directors bad considered the advisahleness of appointing an, agent to represent them at Home, but until the Directors had seen 'Mr Gear they jvoulj do nothing. They had arranged for sales of their meat In Birmingham, Coventry, Bristol, Hall, and other towns, with the result that they had got less, alter

-laying expenses, than if they had sold in bondon. In reply to Mr Dranalield, the Chairman said that the vessels at present engaged in '.tie meat trade were not adequate. The Company had, therefore, to make their arrangements a little ahead, but they could now sell out at a profit. The retiring Directors —Mr J. S. M. Thompson, Hon T. A. Buckley, and Mr R. Greenfield—were reelected, on the motion of Mr G. Allen, seconded by Mr Dunning. On the motion of Mr Levin, seconded by Mr Duthie, Messrs T. K. Macdonald and V. T. Stuart were re-elected Auditors. The Chairman was proceeding to inform the shareholders in reference to the action of the late Secretary, but Mr Duthie objected, stating that he had settled the matter, and wished it to drop. Cordial votes of thanks were passed to the Directors, and to the Secretary and officers of the Company, which were suitably acknowledged by the Chairman and Mr Goalen. The meeting terminated at 10.29 p.m.