MEAT COMPANY'S TROUBLES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 18764, 18 January 1923, Page 4

MEAT COMPANY'S TROUBLES

■ SMITHFIELD AND ARGENTINE COMX’ANY LOSS OF £955,000 IN TWO YEARS. iFkom Oun Own Correspondent.) LONDON, November 30. “The business lias been disgracefully mismanaged," one shareholder declared, at the adjourned annual meeting of tho Smithfteld and Argentine Meat Company (Ltd.), held at Winchester House, when the chief business was consideration of the report of tho committee of shareholders appointed at the previous meeting in July, on which occasion a trading loss of £217,000 for the year was announced. It was then stated that tho directors thought it advisable to write off an investment of £6O,DM in an Argentine refrigerating company. Mrs Thompson Price, moving tho adoption of tho committee’s report, said they had had four months’ hard labour on behalf of the shareholders. Mr W. S. Price, seconding, said ho was sorry if tha investigation had caused a certain amount of heart-burning among those whom they hod criticised. When they found it necessary to blame they were plain and straightforward in their questions as to what had happened. He was glad to say that tho present year was showing much better results. In reply to questions, Mrs Thompson Price said the committee bad taken, into coif sideration the point as to whether tho basia of the business could bo extended by going 1 into tho Australian and New Zealand meat trade. Mr Byrne, a member of tho committee, who had a considerable knowledge of the meat trade, had strongly advised that that course should be taken. Mr James Caird, deputy chairman, said the losses for 1920 and 1921 amounted to £883,000, in addition to which upwards of £92,000, losses on foreign transactions, had to bo written off. Tho committee reported that tho latter transactions appeared to have been wrongly entered on and completely mishandled after tho interests had been acquired. Tho whole of tho committee’s recommendations wore eventually carried unanimously.