COMMERCE AND FINANCE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21529, 29 December 1931, Page 4

COMMERCE AND FINANCE

4 ALEXANDER MINES. LTD. A dividend (No. 1) of one shilling per ihare has been declared on all the snares in. the Alexander Mines Company, Ltd., free of income tax. This represents a earn of £3750 distributed to shareholders. The dividend is payable on January 16. LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE. (United Press Association.) (By Electrlo Telegraph—Copyright.) LONDON, December 24. The following era the latest Quotations for Go»ernment securities compared with the prices ruling last wools: Last week. This week. £ s. d. £ s. d. Imperial Consols, 2)4 p.o, .. 53 10 0 54 2 6 Wat Conversion Loan, 3)4 p.c. .. 72 0 0 72 7 6 Victory 4 P.c. SS 10 0 SO 0 0 C’wcalth 8 p.c.. 1931-41 .. S 3 10 0 77 15 0 C’wealth 8)4 P.c., 1922-27 .. 77 15 0 08 7 6 N.Z. « p.c,, 1930-51 .. .. OS 10 0 99 0 0 N;Z., 4 p,o>, 1920 77 10 0 70 5 0 K.Z. 3)4 p.c.. 1940 .. .. 73 10 0 73 12 6 N.Z. 8 p.c,, 1945 05 10 0 06 10 0 N.S.W. 6)4 p. 0,, 1930-40 .. 87 15 0 87 0 0 ij.S W. 6 p.c,, 1930-40 .. SO 10 0 SO 10 0 N.B.W. 55*. p.c*. 1922-33 ,31 0 0 81 0 0 N.8.W., 4 p.c., 1033 .. ~ 81 0 0 80 2 0 NiS.W. 3)4 p. 0., 1030-50 .. 71 0 0 09 0 0 K.B.W, 3 p.c., 1935 .. .. 57 10 0 58 0 0 •Vlo. 6)4 p. 0., 1030-40 .. .. 74 0 0 75 10 0 Tic. 6 P. 0.. 1932-42 07 0 0 09 0 0 Vic. 454 P.C., 1940-60 .. .. 80 0 0 81 10 0 Tie. 8)4 P.C.. 1929-49 .. ..■ 62 10 0 02 10 ,0 yic. 3 P. 0., 1929-40 .. 60 0 0 50 0 0 ‘Q’land 8 p. 0,, 1930-40 .. SO 0 0 85 10 0 Q'lacd S p.c., 1940-00 .. 72 15 0 11 C O (t’iand 8 P. 0.. 1922-47 .. 68 0 0 58 0 0 iii. 6)4 P. 0.. 1930-40 .. .. 00 0 0 ' 89 7 6 g.A. 8)4 P. 0.. 1939 .. '.. 67' 0 0 64 10 0 B.A. 8 p. 0,, 1918 or after .. 45 10 0 45 10 0 W.JL 6 p.c,. 1930-40 .. .. 86 0 0 80 10 0 W.A. 8)4 P.c,. 1920-35 .. 75 0 0 72 10 0 W.A. 8)4 P. 0.. 1915-36 .. 70 15 0 71 10 0 Tot. 6)4 P. 0.. 1930-40 .. .. 90 5 0 89 10 0 lu 3)4 P. 0,. 1020-40 .. .. 63 15 0 02 10 0 ■Tu. 8 P*C>( 1920-40 .. .. 62 10 0 J6l 10 0 GOLD IN COROMANDEL FIFTY OUNCES FROM THIRTEEN TONS. The new find at Coromandel, on which Mr J. A. M'Neill and his eons are working, is reported to be looking very well (says the Auckland Star), That the ore is good is shown by the fact that a parcel of J. 3 tons, which was picked out, when treated returned 50Joz of bullion. Men working under scheme 5 are getting the road made to enable a battery to be got to the property after the Christmas-New Year vacation. The leader has been cut in a low level about 300 feet north-west, and the stone gave very satisfactory assay values. M'Neill’s claim has been named " Long Trail,” and done of the sons has pegged out a holding alongside which is called “ Red Trail.” Samples taken from the reef in the latter property by Mr Frank Shepherd, mine manager, gave a return at the rate of 12oz of bullion to the ton, although no gold is visible to the naked eye. The stone from the “Red Trail” looks more promising, so Mr J. A. M'Neill states, than those from the “ Long Trail.” The reef runs through both properties. Several camps have been formed in the vicinity of the find, and work will be started on other claims after the holidays. The field was decried by prospectors, who only used the pick and dish test in the early days. This is not to be wondered at, because the stone from the “Long Trail,” though it has averaged 4oz to the ton, has to be pounded with pestle and mortar to find the gold. . There are now over 20 claims pegged out andgranted in the vicinity of the new find. Mr M'Neill has six of his sons working with him on the property, which is probably a record for one mining camp. The ore was packed 12 miles to the Four in Hand battery to get it treated. E.S. AND A. BANK ACCOUNTS FOR PAST YEAR. Provision for bad and doubtful debts and contingencies having been charged to contingency reserve, the gross profit of the English, Scottish, and Australian Bank, Ltd., for the year ended June 30 was £1,275,825, against £1,587,758 for 192930. Expenses and management, including income and other taxes, absorbed £1,009,168, against £1,045,022 a year ago, and net profits declined from £542,736 to £266,657, as was stated in the cabled summary from London published on November 16, together with a comparison of the previous year’s results. In the latest balance sheet, which has now come to hand, deposits have shown a further decline of £1,759,172, as against a lowering last year of £3,452,803. Deposits at interest have diminished by £1,430,159 and currents accounts by £329,113 to £9,786,854. Advances and other assets, after deducting provision for bad and doubtful debts, and contingencies reserve at £25,699,023 are £3,168,844 below the 1930 total. The proportion of advances to to.tal deposits is 91.3 per cent., as against 95.3 per cent, last year and 87.7 per cent, in the previous year. Bills payable have fallen by £314)628 to £1,552,930 and bills receivable by £582,213 to £2,097,482, compared with contractions of £1,023,866 and £3,231,472 respectively in the 1930 year. The sum of £1,585,000 has been allocated from the reserve fund to a special reserve for depreciation in Australian currency. The directors consider that this will only be of a temporary character and that the amount will ultimately be restored to the general reserve fund. The total of the balance- sheet is £38,579,690, which is £2,280,048 below that of the previous year. NESTLE’S CAPITAL REDUCTION ADOPTED. An extraordinary general meeting of preference shareholders in and Anglo-Swiss Condensed Milk # Company (Australasia), Ltd., was held in Sydney last week. The meeting unanimously adopted resolutions providing for the reduction of the nominal capital from £4,000,000 to £2,500,000, and of the paidup capital from £3,500,000 to £2.000.000 by returning £1,500,000 in cash to the ordinary shareholders. This resolution is subject to the execution of a deed by the parent company, guaranteeing the repayment of the preference capital in the event of the Australian company going into liquidation. At a meeting of the ordinary shareholders resolutions were carried for the reduction of capital and the waiving of the right to reduce the preference dividend from 8 per cent, per annum to 6.2 per cent. HIGH EXCHANGE RATE NEW ZEALAND AND AUSTRALIA. The high exchange rate at present existing between New Zealand anc 1 Australia in favour of the former presents an opportunity for New Zealand investors to purchase Australian consols at a price which will show a good profit in the event ot the exchange rate falling substantially (says Jobson’s Digest). The prices at •which Australian consols have been selling of late, though higher than those current some weeks back, are still much below par. By reason of the buying rate of New Zealand exchange in Australia being £llß 10s, the discount to a Lew Zealand investor would be still greater. In the case of the 4 per cents., 1938, the price at the time of writing is £92 15s, but to the New Zealand investor the cost, after deducting accrued interest from the above price, and with exchange at £llß 10s, would be £77 3s Bd. The discount

local: and overseas markets.

would be still greater if the investor were to buy any of the other 4 per cents., for these run for a longer term. Those maturing in 1950 are the lowest in price, which to the New Zealand buyer, with exchange as at present, would be £74 13s. It remains for the investor to decide for himself as to the future movement ot the exchange. In the ordinary course of events the world depression may be expected to pass, and conditions to become normal. The trade relations between the Dominion- and the Commonwealth should improve, and if is scarcely to be expected that exchange-will continue at the present high rate indefinitely. Its return to par would mean that the buyer of Australian consols would be able to realise his holding at the Australian price without any loss on account of exchange. Before taking any action he should consider not only the probabilities of a decline in exchange rates, which appear to be promising at present, but also the prospect of the scheme propounded by Australian economists for the stabilisation-of the Australian-London rate at £l3O. It is essential, however, that the investor should realise that meanwhile the income return will not be high. The interest yield on, say, 4 per cents., 1050, would be £5 7s 2d per cent, which would be reduced by the exchange to about 4 a per cent. Still, it may be worth accepting this return in the hope of reaping a satisfactory, profit should exchange rail materially. MOUNT LYELL RESOURCES “With bur-capital expenditure virtually completed and our plant in good shape, we are well placed to meet further depression should such fall to our lot, or to achieve a reward for past sacrifices, if conditions improve,’’ said the chairman, Mr Colin Templeton, at the annual meeting of the Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company in Melbourne recently. Mr Templeton said: “The low prices recently touched made production unprofitable' for practically all producers throughout the world, and it is generally accepted that the underlying reason tor the decline, not only in the prices of metals, but also of practically every commodity, is the reduction in the purchasing capacity of Europe. This in turn has brought about a. similar; decline ifl the purchasing capacity of the rest of the world, owing to the restricted .volume, ot international trade. The consequence is that there is a want of confidence m the future even in those countries which have monetary resources. Until these conditions are changed we cannot hope for any substantial improvement. It is not that money is wanting to set the wheels of industry in motion. It is more a matter of restoring confidence in trade. “ But for improvements earned out during the last four years.” the chairman added, “mining operations would have ceased months ago, and our very existence as a copper producer would have been at stake. With a pay roll of £IOOO a day, this would have been disastrous to iasmania. The result of our policy has been to create increased employment at a time when the vast majority of employers has been reluctantly compelled to shorten hands.” EMPIRE SOFTWOOD SUPPLIES 95 PER CENT. FROM FOREIGN COUNTRIES. A fact little realised by supporters of “Buy Empire Goods” is that only 5 per cent, of the Empire’s supplies of siiftwood is drawn from within the Empire, while the remaining 95 per cent, is imported from such countries as Norway, Sweden, and Russia. _ Bondholders in N.Z. Perpetual Forests, Ltd, help to decrease this unfair ratio by enabling the company to plant forests of softwood timber on the waste lands ot the Dominion, which, when they attain maturity, should prove a valuable source of softwood supply for the rest of the Empire. Estimates show, too, that with this huge waiting market top prices should be realised. —Advt.