COMPANY BALANCE SHEETS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20287, 21 December 1927, Page 6

COMPANY BALANCE SHEETS.

BANK OF NEW SOUTH WALES. Six months Paid-up General Net Diviondcd. capital, reserves. profit, dend. & & £ p.c. Mar. 31, 1919 3,912,440 3.237,313 277,037 10 Sep. 30, 1919 4,000,000 3,340,370 302,425 10 Mar. 31, 1920 3.765,700 3,425,447 304,219 10 Sep. 30, 1920 4,921,100 3,519,383 348,634 10 Mar. 31, 1921 4,965,200 3,551,098 403,932 Sep. 30, 1921 5,000,000 3,650,923 349,400 10 Mar. 31, 1922 5,000,000 3,760,133 350,210 10 Sop. 39, 1922 5,864,360 3,827,438 338,914 10 Mar. 31, 1923 5,976,880 3,961,645 432,188 10 Sop, 30, 1923 6,000.000 4.054.539 392.894 10 Mar. 31, 1924 6,000,000 4,213,159 458.621 10 Srp. 30. 1924 6,000,000 4,301.373 383,213 10 •Sco. 30, 1923 6.000,000 4,530,755 979,383 tl2i Pep. 30, 1925 6,000,000 4.580.315 1,099.559 tlSl Sop. 30, 1927 7,123,410 5.820,610 1 226,247 +l2' •Inception of 12 months’ period, t Including bonus. The statement of accounts for year ended September 30 last is the first since o merger with the Western Australian Bank took place. The figures laid before the shareholders are thus on a larger scale than the year preceding—a fact that has to bo borne in mind in any comparison The net profit of £1,226,247 supplies a dividend and bonus at the rate of 12j per cent, per annum, and when a transfer of £340,750 is made to reserve fund, the surplus is overdrawn by £l3lO, which s met out of the floating balance.

The former capital of £6.000,0(X), plus the £875,000 issued to Western Australian Bank shareholders in consideration of the sale of that bank as a gome concern claimed dividend for the full period. For tho last quarter, a further sum of £548,440 ranked for dividend and also tor bonus This last amount may be taken to represent the demands of the ordinary growth of tho bank since March, 1923, added to tho estimated current needs of the united institution, and is instructive ns an indi cation of tho progress made. Owing to the different periods for which tho capital was in circulation, the apparent return of 16.52 per cent, works out, at something higher. The customary items are mentioned as charged against profits before bringing out the net surplus, but the amount of taxes (£271,0671 alone is rriven. Larger profits bring larger taxes, and the amount is tho second largest paid in recent years, as is shown below, viz. :

Tor the past three seasons, the ratio has remained fairly constant, although the re spcctive amounts have varied. It is evident that the burden has been appreciably lightened of late, as from 1921-112 up to last year a rising profit had been accompanied by a falling ratio. .Reticence is observed regarding other definite charges such as salaries and wages, o r general expenses. Line result of the merger has been to a id considerably to reserves. About ouc-Uiird of the reserve fund brought bv tho smaller amalgamating bank has been transferred to other accounts, leaving a contribution £559,240 to swell the general fund. lo that falls to be added the augmentation of £340,760 fiom profits, or £900,000 in an When everything is included, die visible reserves amount to £5,620,61b, equivalent to 78.41 per cent, of the paid-up capital The agg regale is well covered by the British and Colonial Government securities that aro held. in proportion to the bank a fuiida, in*-; amount of £673,454 represented by notes in circulation is small owing to the sphere of operations being restricted. The necessary one-third to be hold in gold agains-. tho circulation is not likely to impose much strain on its resources The miscellaneous group on the liabilities side embraces botn liabilities and reserves, the nature of ihc latter .being partly detailed. What traction of the total of £8,857,199 may repre sent b’lls payable, or other indebtedness ar amounts dim to other banks, is not hs closed. There is an increase on tho "hole of some £140,000, but it cannot bo ascertained whether that increase is a source of strength or otherwise. _ Tho chief liability—deposits, accrued interest and rebate-has increased some £3,000,000, while the mam asset, bills discounted and loans and advances to customers, has concurrently gone up £5 000,000. The arnalftamat.on appeals mainly responsible for the former movement," tho deposits, etc., being only slightly higher than the combined amount at September, 1926. After making hko allowance in tho case of the other, tliore i? an increase of about £1.500.000 As a general indication of the _ trend oj business over a wide area, it « seen that borrowings continue to catch up on lendings. In rclat.on to the total asscG, the loan?, etc., compare as follows, uz., Dills discounted and loans Total and advance?. assets. Katio.

The assets in eight years and a-half have increased by £20.000.000. while the.loans to customers have risen over firiS.OCO.WJO. The more than pound-for-pound increase in the part to the whole means that the supporting asets are reduced to a figure that is lower both actually and proportionately than when loans were not much more than half their present amount. The rest of the liquud assets, while altered in their apportionments, are virtually tho same in total. The funds brought by'the amalgamating bank have apparently ail been required to meet the enhanced advances. It is noticeable, however, that the funds are held m a more readily realisable form, from which it may ho assumed that a further demand for advances is anticipated. British and Colonial Government securities have fallen to £7,Zn5.56t, whorea? coin bullion and cash have to £11.279,788. and money at short call in London to £1.200,000. Municipal and other securities at £161,229 have altered httle but bills recallable are up to £s.bub^Ji. The fixed assets now stand at ijKUXj,UUJ. A certain sum (unstated), has been written off their book value, but even when allow ance is made for tho extra property acquired during the year by the merger, a considerable amount of extensions must have taken place. Tho branches and agencies now number 514, an increase ot 83, of which the amalgamation accounted for 67. The average works out at slightly more than at September, 1926, and tho aggregate represents approximately onceightb instead of one-ninth of the total assets. There must, notwithstanding, no a strong reserve contained ' n the bank premises, and one that is not likely to diminish as time goes on. The relations between visible and secret reserves is an interesting speculation, and after an existence of over a century the balance mav weigh down on the side of fhc invisible.

About 20 years ago a London greengrocer* named Norton won International repute by conducting bis ship “ ns Christ would have run it.” A similar experiment is reported from Indiana (TbS.A.) The latest adventurer has decided to sell off his stock each day at cost price—lnis a grocer—and not unnaturally Hie rush on his shop occupies the attention of a section of tho local police force. The authorities, with the support of the grocers who live and move by normal trading, have the matter in hand, and onr hero will no doubt resign himself to the less spectacular and more useful practice of taking what is known as a “ reasonable profit.”

1018-19 ... Taxw. £ 194,130 Net profit. £ 570,482 Ratio. 33.50 Total. £ 733,ei2 iim-ao ... ... 209,890 052,853 32.10 8U2.833 1020-21 ... ... 247,9 Li 292,130 753,341 32.01 1,001,258 1921-22 ... ... 098,121 41.85 330,25-1 1922-23 ... ... 248,202 825,0*2 30.00 1,073,37-1 1023-24 ... ... 230,123 810,834 27.91 1.083.257 1024-25 ... ... 22-1,790 079,363 22.95 1,201,173 1025-20 ... ... 231,867 1,000,559 21.36 1,331,426 1920-27 ... ... 271,007 1,220,217 22.11 1,137,311

£ £ p.o. Mar. 31. 1919 Sopt. 30, 1919 Mar. 31, 1920 29,043,455 29,458,103 30,022,441 64,698,521 64,440,037 70,789,042 46.28 45.71 42.71 Sep. 30. 1020 Mar. 31, 1921 33,075,770 09,534,277 54.76 38,325,960 73,337,250 52.20 Sep. 30, 1921 Mar. 31, 1022 ... 33,980,012 35,037,757 09,935,887 09,640,386 51 • 45 50.:i fVp. 30, 1922 36,852,151 70,211,385 52.40 Mar. 31, 1923 38.156,401 76,755,483 40.71 Sep. 30, 1923 Mar. 31, 1024 ... 41,842,273 41,036,090 73,705,835 75,850,258 56.77 54.10 Sop. 30, 1924 Sop. 30. 1025 ... 43,102,389 12,076,111 71,939,108 77,529,056 59.91 Sop. 30.'1020 Sep. 30. 1027 ... 18,017,148 53,408,839 79,078,890 8 1,700,517 60.72 63.00