MOSGIEL WOOLLEN FACTORY COMPANY.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 15301, 15 November 1911, Page 3

MOSGIEL WOOLLEN FACTORY COMPANY.

ANNUAL MEETING. The thirfrr-«'gbth annual general meeting of the Mosgiol Woollen Factory Company bold in the compeny'B officos yesterday, ■when there wore about a dozen shareholders present. The chairman of dirocton (Mr J. Roberts) presided. . In tooting the adoption of tho annual report (already publotwd) and . balanoo sheet, the Batd:—Another year has gone past, and we are hero to consider the thirty-eighth annual report of tho oomp&nv. The operations of tho past year, although, as tho report remarks, not yielding profits equal to the 1 previous year, still show quite a satisfactory result, as to hsve been able to write off £3000 for depreciation, pay a 6 per oent. dividend, and inareeeo the cony-foward by £458 12a Bd. It is manifest irom these figures that we haTe been able to securo a fair profit on oor turnover, and I think wo should be satisfied if we can continue in the yean to como to <fe equally well. The oompeny has experienced a steady demand for ita manufactures during tho year, and business has been very sound, as is evidenced by the absenoo of bad debts. It is with satisfaction that I draw the attention of shareholders to the' fact that yto have now experieooed 10 consecutivo yens of freedom from . loss in bad debts. I remarked at our last annual meeting that- "this spoko volumes for tne caro of our warohooso staff and for the financial soundnece of our oustamcts, and it affords me great satisfaction to agaia repeat this statement. Tie balance sheet calls for but few remarks, bat I will refer to one itom whiob is of- interest.' It will be noticed that tha baruc acoount shows'a balance to thb cuodit of the company of £821 2s Id. as against a balanoo to debit last year of £3189 5s 9d. A similar drperience in regard to tho bank aooount has not ooourred since 1883. It will also bo noted that goods manufactured in process, and raw material show a shrinkage of £3128 as compared with the previous 'year, and this largely aoeotmta for the improved position of. tin bank aooount. Too profit and loss account, while exhibiting a shortage of profit in goods aooount, shows a shrinkage of £537 in interest and discount. oeused by a lower rato of iotarcet charged by the. bank and our leaning somewhat less heavily than usual ■ on oar hankers for advances. Shareholders will remember tbat when we met on November,22 last year a sum of £1500 wag set aade as a "special provision for new machinery on onter." Tfcis sum was expended in &o purchase of now fast looms to' replace tho remaining old riow'ones, so I am ai>ld to report that the 'whole of' the original looms has now been - tamed out and been wplaocd by modern up-to-date machinal. Considerable delay took place in getting' tho new looms to work, as the first lot shipped was lost in tho wreck of the Aotea, and the order bad to be duplicated, thas ceasing considerable delay. It will be noticed that tho ontlay for new plant daring the year ma £3296 7s Id, and was expended for* looms, hosiery machines, and twisting frames. The weather condition) during tho past yew have been unusuallv dry, and the scarcity of water at tho mill prompted tho manager to sink a well in the hope of securing a permanent ropply- I am glad to say that an ample now of splendid quality was struck at 20ft at a cost of £160, so all anxiety about a sufacbai supplv'of water is now over. _ At to cloeo of the now current financial year, if our profits Will admit 01, a .fair, appropriation for depreciation, the directors will take up the quastion of providing further housing accommodation, and thny haw under consideration fho erection of an addition for the exclusive Me of tho hosiery machinery. Concentration of works tends towards ooonomy of working and bettor supervision' and tho extension T mow indicate will I am sur* bo productive of sati* Lctory reeulta-The room now oooupted, and which will bo vacant JtT 617 - adlinC3 'm™ been \nll provide space for new woeased output 0 f U Products of the mill. ,<*> provide tho funds neoaaary for this alteration from tho protons made from .timo to time for dep£ ortion, and tnjia aroid colling up anv opened by shareholders that tho board has for many .ycam arflied all ° depreciation to_ the'oration of new buddings and the introduction of new pery, and I feel sure that tb™p,C& sound pobcy to inores® oar prxxK power without liweaacg our canital i tnat, aWmgh fte cost of the mMai" Bomewhat stationary, our premises and pkmt are increasing. At the present time &' »°#' en . P.'! l * of the Do™„ ™ d^^^f^k Itratloa i to meet tlie demands of tho employe for inoreasod wages, and I trust wiso dmaons will bo 10 ®._f V crippling an dl»toy Which is of consideraole imindustrial lif o 0 f the Dcmmion. It cannot be hold tlia profits are exoeasive, oa wo only pay the to our eh^ holdea and tho pronaon for depreciation » try no means excessive. Chi pr «„t wages both for piece, and day I ventans to say, faw, and so far as I * j 4 ®* ®ssatisfaction- exists in the MowieJ mill It is only natural that wwkem tfwuld desire to better their condition, end employers are only too pleased to assist in this so lonjr as a fair marpin of profit can be seen rod. At the same time a point may be reached at which it is DO longer posablo to oontinuo tho work. I sincerely trust that moderation will ptfraii and that no terms will 'be granted which will prove & menace to the industry. • An increase of the cost of production does no harm to tho manufacturer so Jonff as he can pass it on to the consumer, but in the woollen industry Selling, prices ore ruled by the cost of importing similar poods, and this fact must not be overlooked. I have on freguont oocasions mentioned that I think it » toe for mo to stand aside and lot tho J?°retlist j) W {alien to mo ever since the foundation of the company pass on to younger shoulders. Shareholders havo had *n opportunity this year, seeing I retire py rotation from tho directorate, of making an appointment that would reliovo me 01 the paution I havo so long held, but they have failed to avail themselves of this opportunity, so I am aßain called upon to conturao to take a part in tho work of the board for a further term. I fully appreciate the confidence which shareholders repese in mo, and I accept sorvico for a w ™ with plcarare, and I will exert my best oadeaToqta towards controlling the comnanys business in such a way as will prodw» satisfactory results to all concerned. Mr E. Eo{d seoonded the mdtion. He

saol he had looked through, tho-work of the ,company for the t last 10 years, and found that while tho increase to-tho plant and buildings had cost £24,000 odd, writing off to tho extent of £17,000 had taken place, and that during tho last .fivo .years they had had slightly more writing off than the amount taken for plant. Hie speaker also io£errcd to'the company's freedom from bad debts, and stated tnat tho directors had tho full confidence of the shareholders. > Tho motion was then carried without dissent. Tho retiring directore (Mr John Roborts and tho Hon. T. Fergus), being the only gontleman nominated for 'the vacancies on tho directorate, were doclurod ro-olcctcd, the Chairman 'briefly returning thhnlol 'on behalf of himself and'Mr-Fergus. On tho motion of Mr F. G. PrVdo, seconded by Mr J. L. Passmoro, Messrs Peter. Bart and .David. Crawford- were ,roelected auditors On the motion of Mr Ford, a hearty vote of thanks was passed to tho directors,'the staff, and tho employees. The Hon. J. R. Sinclair returned thanks .on behalf of his fellow directors and himself for tho voto of thanks. .They tried to do tho best they could for tho company, and wero a vory_ happy family. Referring to tho suggestion ,of tho chairman that the day was coming when he would bo •willing to mako way for roniebody else on tho dineotorate, it always, seemed to him that Mr Robert l ! was part and parcel of tho company—("Hear, hear"), and he hopod the timo would bo far distant ".'hen ho ceased to bo a director.—("Hear, hear."). Mr E. Cameron (tho manager) then briefly returned, thanks on behalf of the staff.