DIRECTOR’S GIFT OF £275,329

Otago Daily Times, Issue 18787, 14 February 1923, Page 2

DIRECTOR’S GIFT OF £275,329

WELCOME SURPRISE FOR SHAREHOLDERS. Sir Herbert. Frederick Cook, chairman of Cook, Son, and Co., the St. Paul’s (London) drapers, startled tho world of finance a few weeks ago for the. second tune last year. In February, at the end of what was for the company a bad year, Sir Herbert gave the shareholders a pleasant surprise by mak-in-r a personal gift of £*5,312 to provide tho

full preference dividend. 1 In this way the holders of ordinary shares also benefited, as, if the dividend on tho preference shares had not been paid it would have been the first charge on future Pr He & now followed this np in December by sacrificing shares in the company of the face value of £275,323, to make good the loss shown in the company's balance sheet m December of the preceding year. Sir Herbert's latest proposal was that the loss of £'275,325 on the balance sheet should be written off by means of a reduction in the capital of the company, and he offered that this reduction should he effected by writing 19s per share off 280,820 of the ordinary shares standing in his name. This was to clear Hie way for (he distribution of flic profits as dividends in the future.