TRUSTEES, EXECUTORS, & AGENCY COMPANY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 14213, 14 May 1908, Page 4

TRUSTEES, EXECUTORS, & AGENCY COMPANY

j The twenty-seventh ordinary general (. meeting of shareholders in the Trustees, , Executors, and Agency Company was held . yesterday afternoon at the company's office. Those present wore;— the Hon. J. E. Sin--3 clair, M.L.C. (acting chairman), Messrs J. N 1 Mill, P. Fen wick, A. Bathgate, A. Sint clair, W. L. Simpson, H. Baron, W. l Brown, P. C. Neill, E. R. Smith, A. W. t. Mortis, John Roberts,,C.M.G., and Robert s Hay. , { The Chairman, in the course of hie re- _ marks, said:—ln mo ( ving the adoption of » tho report and' balance sheet last year the chairman referred to the fact that tho company had had a normal year, following • upon two or three years whose profits were, owing to special reasons,'larger than usual. e We have had a like experience this year, Tho net profit is £2089 9s 3d, as against last year's not profit of £1834 5s Id, so that there has boon a slight improvement. One or two special estates have fallen into our hands this year which have helped towards ' thi6 result. Your directors recommend u the payment of a dividend and bonus /for 1 the year equivalent to 15 per cent., and to carry forward the balance of £1382 lis Id. e Tho company lias now done business for t 26 years, and during that time tho average !_ annual profit has been £1434, and the d average annual dividend lias been £7 18s „ per cent. During the last two or three £ years the company made some reductions in its scale of charges. In regard to the "■ balance shoot, it is usual to make tome • comparison with the figures for tho prcvious year. Balances due by the company '■ are £13,485 6s 3d, as against £7713 5s 6a, tho increase being accounted for by money ii that camo in at the close of the half-year, a and whs available, for , investments under y consideration. Tho- samo reason accounts e for tho bank balance being larger than [. usual. Tho total expenses show a trifling e decrease, whilst tho items comprising them show very little variation.. Tho total balance of profit and loss for the year- is = £401 Os lOd, which is accounted "for by s the increase in profit previously referred i to and by the fact that wo carried forward 1 last year a larger 6um than ill tho year r prior to that. Commission shows an ine croaso of £194, whilst interest earned e 6hows a slight decrease. Tho figures e under the heading, of trust and executor 6 and agency business, which have been e added at the foot of the balance sheet for the last three years, arc of interest, as they n show the volume of business entrusted to ' tho care of the company. The large ' amount of £1,490,367 15s 5d gives some ■> idea of this, and it would be'still largor 0 if values of share scrip held on account of ij clients were added, but those, being of a ? fluctuating- nature, are not included. Thoro o is an increase during tho year in the total e as compared with last year of £148,057 6s sd, but this increase was largely duo to the e ! value of mortgages handed' during tho 0 year-to the company as trustee for deben-ture-holders—a class of business which the ' company undertakes fo.r a. small fee. Out- ' side this, the ordinary business of the com- " pany shows a substantial increase. The ® current business, without the addition of 1 any corpus commission, is now almost equal; e to paying 15 por cent., so that when large 1 estates fall in and wo get specially good o years we can still further strengthen the 0 reserve fund, which, I feel 6ure, has been . a factor in attracting to the- company the s increase in volume of figures to which I . have referred. This company is constantly j applied to by farmers for advances on frce--1 hold security. Land whose value is based ; on the present high prices of produce has • been changing hands frequently at cone siderable increases, and this has called for i much caro on the part of your manager r and directors in selecting suitable securii' ties for tho investment* of the money : entrusted to tho company's charge. The 1 Chairman said he did not think thcro was s anything lie could profitably add to, tho I report, and he nWeil the adoption of the ! report and balance sheet, which carries with it payment of the proposed dividend and bonus. ' Mr W. Brown seconded the motion, ' remarking that the report was a very satisfactory one. indicating tile large volume ■ of business done and the satisfactory return ' given to the shareholders for the capital ' invested. The chairman and the directors i were, he thought, to be congratulated on l the manner in which they had carried on , the business of the company so that they i were able to declare a 5 per cent, divi- , dend for the half-year as well as a bonus. , Tho motion was carried without discussion. On the motion of Mr J. Mill, secondod j by Mr P. Fenwick, the retiring directors-- , the Hon. J. R. Sinclair, M.L.C., and Mr . P. C. Neill—were re-elected. Messrs W. , Brown and Co. and G. L. Denniston were 1 re-elccted auditors. ; The Chairman, in. thanking the shareholders for the reapointment. of himself r and Mr Neill, promised that, as far as t the were concorned, everything l would bo done in futuro to forward tho ; interests of tho company. , ;On the motion of Mr E. R. Smith a . vote of thanks was passed to the staff for , its excellent work during tho past 'year ; Mr W. L Simpson (managor) thanked the shareholders for their vote. The com- ' panv, he assured them, had a very efficient staff, many of them having been with the I company for a number of years.