COMMERCE AND FINANCE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23221, 19 June 1937, Page 9

COMMERCE AND FINANCE

MINING NEWS BIG RIVER GOLD MINES The Big River Gold Mines, Ltd., has submitted the following report for the month of May and part of June: — Battery Department.—Two hundred tons of ore was crushed for 1370 z 4dwt of melted gold. Cyanide Department.—Twenty-one ounces of bullion were recovered. £1065 being the total estimated value. In estimating the above values, gold has, been taken at 145 s per fine ounce. UPPER WATUT COMPANY LIQUIDATION ANNOUNCED (Per United Press Association) WELLINGTON, June 18. The Stock Exchange Association of New Zealand has received cabled advice from Upper Watut Gold Alluvials that the directors of Upper Watut regret to announce that they have been compelled to place the company In liquidation in consequence of the unexpected issue of writs by two New Guinea creditors. The difference between revenue and expenditure since November was met by finance arranged by the directors, and liquidation was necessary to preserve the assets intact. If investigation reveals the possibilities of reconstruction an effort will be made to give shareholders the right to participate. The Upper Watut Company was; floated with a capital of £2OOO, and 5s shares were issued to the value of £BOO. The mine is situated near the Bulolo claim; although in a different valley, and is working suction pumps: on alluvial ground. Recently the shares were selling in Australia at 5Jd,

TALISMAN DUBBO REPORT At the Golden Dawn Battery of the Talisman Dubbo Mine, a total of 40 tons Was treated for an approximate realisation' of £ 274. • AUSTRALIAN STOCK EXCHANGES (United Press Association) (By Electric Telegraph—Copyright) i. SYDNEY. June 18. (Received June 19, at 10.30 p.m.) The Stock Exchange was dull and investors generally were operating with extreme caution, price movements being only within narrow limits. ' THE MORNING SALES

MELBOURNE, June 18. The market generally was better, with. Barriers improving. Despite the lower metal prices Mount Morgan were up ,on the chairman’s indication that the prospects are satisfactory.

BALCLUTHA STOCK SALE (Special to Daily Times) BALCLUTHA, June 18. There was a good yarding of fat lambs at the fortnightly sale to-day, this being the last sale of the season for the export buyers, and with the presence of three buyers prices ruled firm. Fat lambs, heavy, 27s to 32s 6d; lighter lambs, 19s to 225; butchers’ ewes, 24s to 30s; freezing ewes. 13s to 21s; fat wethers, 26s to 325, Store Sheep.—A small yarding. A Pn? oi. ewe lambs was passed at 26s lud; failing-mouthed ewes sold at 14s to 17s 3d. : Cattle.—Fat bullocks sold at £6 15s to £7 10s; fat heifers. £4 10s to £7fat cows, £3 15s to £7 7s 6d. Only a few pens of store cattle were forward and two-year-old steers sold at £3 15s : mixed-sex calves. £3. Pigs—A good entry, but buvers were not keen. Suckers sold at 9s to 12s 6d; and slips. 17s to 19s. There were some passings. PALMERSTON STOCK SALE

monthly sale was held in the Palmerston saleyards on Friday. There was a small entry of sheep, approximately 300 hoggets being yarded, with a small entry of fat sheep. Fats were firm on recent sales, realising 2Ss to ols od. The store market, mainly due to adverse weather conditions, showed an easing tendency, ewe hoggets makivS up J,° 225 : wether hoggets to 16s. the cattle entry was also small, and comprised mostly store cows with a few spring calvers. These were firm on late rates, spring calvers showing a decided improvement. Good store cows brought up to £3 10s and calvers up to £8 17s 6d. There was a small entry of pigs, which realised up to 14s. ■ MARTHA MINE OPERATIONS The following, information has been : cabled to London by the Martha Gold Mining Company (Waihi). Ltd;—“ For the period ended June 5, comprising 22 crushing days. 18.301 tons of ore were crushed for a result of 1400 fine oz of gold and 27.723 fine oz Of silver This included 1843 tons mined from the Grand Junction area, which yielded 4120 z of gold and 19260 z of silver. No. 2 level north branch of Martha lode in brown north-west crosscut: Have driven to west a further 33 feet in ore assaying 16s 6d a ton The lode is about four feet wide No 3 level, east branch of Edward lode; Driving south Next 35 feet is ore of good grade about three feet wide. No. 8 level. Martha lode, north branch: Have resumed driving at 499 feet west of Giddens north crosscut. The drive is advanced 39 feet in ore of good grade about two feet and a-half wide , Martha lode north branch, ■vest of E'pir: Crosscut is advanced 36 feet in ore assaying 23s a ton. The width of the lode is about three feet nnd a-half.",

LOCAL AMD OVERSEAS MARKETS

CHRISTCHURCH STOCK EXCHANGE PAST WEEK’S ACTIVITIES i (Special to Daily Times) CHRISTCHURCH, June 18. After a period of extreme dullness and consistent marking down of prices over a wide range of investments, the Christchurch Stock Exchange at the end of this week showed considerably more life and, though there was no marked upward movement in prices, the tone was considerably better in almost every section. Overseas markets began to improve mid-week, and in New Zealand a stiffening was apparent immediately after. The irregularity of the base metals market and the continued suspicion of gold have shaken out a number of weak holders of shares in producing concerns, and the turnover in this type of stock was again heavy. Breweries, too, were very actively traded. Banks showed a pronounced weakening. Though sellers were not forward in any number, bank shares weakened

throughout the period, possibly because of the very slight improvement reported by the National Bank of New Zealand. Commercial Bank of Australia 10s shares were sold at from 18s 7d to 18s 4d and finished weaker by another Id. The £lO issue was done at £9 4s, a loss of'4s 6d on tne last sales. New South Wales had business at £35 15s and £35 17s 6d, a loss of about 10s on the price of a fortnight ago. New Zealand had one sale at £2 3s 6d—a loss of 2s 3d. Bank shares were not at all active, as sellers appeared uninterested in the lower quotations. There was fair inquiry for insurance but holders were difficult to move. Loans were not favoured, and were weaker. Goldsbrough, Mort, in which there was some activity, lost more than Is °5L the week ’ s trading to finish at £1 los 3d. There was some interest in meat companies, particularly North Canterbury Freezing, which announces a capital reorganisation. Shares were done at £2 3s 6d, an improvement of 6s on the last three weeks. New Zealand Refrigerating were about firm, with little business. Among the local industrials to show life was Kaiapoi Woollen, of which the 7s paid shares rose from 4s 6d to sales at 4s 10d._ New Zealand Breweries were the main interest of investors in that section. Ordinaries had little business, but after a sharp fall recovered again to within 3d of the price at the end of last week. The rights were consistently traded at the end of last week, but they fell sharply, and throughout this week they remained erratic. There was a useful gain today to sales at up to £1 Is lid, an improvement of 7d. Sales of Carlton were made at £3 4s. and later at £3 2s. Tooths and Staples both weakened. Base metals and chain stores were the main preoccupation of the market in the miscellaneous section. In general, values were weak till the end of the period, when there was a slight but definite upward trend. British Tobaccos were one of the few shares to show a fair strength. They were very quiet, but maintained their price throughout the week and were sold to-day at a slight advance. Both Broken Hill* Issues came down by about Is 6d. There was a good turnover in Proprietaries, but the contributing were quiet. G. J. Coles rose till mid-week, but slipped thereafter, and a sale was made to-day at £5 3s. Dunlop Rubber moved back till today, when there was an upward movement. Both_ Zincs dropped sharply in the middle of the period, but . later moved up on an improved overseas position. Mort’s P°ck rose sharply on Thursday by 9d, but lost a penny later. There was fairly good trading in the Woolworth issues, which remained steady at the lower values established early m the period. Lyells and Morgans were again the mainstay of fairly heavy trading in the mining section, but there was a good deal of interest also in Broken Hill South and North. Souths were erratic and fell till the end of the period, when there was an upturn. Norths were steady at £3 10s Mount Lyells declined steadily for the greater part of the week, but regained about 4d to-day. Morgans were consistently weaker also, till they picked up in dealings to-day. Rawang Tins were, on the whole, about steady, though on a slightly lower basis than they were last week.

COMPANIES REGISTERED

The Mercantile Gazette notifies the registration of the following companies:— Bramley Oil Refineries (N.Z.), Ltd. Registered as a private company May 17. Office; Esk street, Invercargill. Capital: £2200, in 2200 shares of £1 each. Subscribers; Dunedin—A. C. Mills 250. Invercargill—J. D. Campbell 25, J. Peterson 100, C. J. Johnson 100, J. Holloway 25, W. Strang 300, D. Teviotdale 100. E. H. Wood 1200. Bluff—P. Ford 100. Objects: Oil refiners and producers. Southland Finance and Guarantee Corporation. Ltd. Registered May 18. Office: Dee street, Invercargill. Capital: £20,000, in 20,000 shares of £1 each. Subscribers: Invercargill—C. P Tapley 100, E. H. Swallow 25, M. Cosgrove 25, H. M’Lachlan 25, J. M. Grieve 100, W. Young 25. Dunedin--R. S. Stewart 100. Objects: Guarantee and indemnity business and finance agents. Premier Finance Company, Ltd. Registered May 25. Office: Esk street, InvercargiH. Capital: £IO,OOO, in 10,000 shares of £1 each. Subscribers: Invercargill—T. R. Taylor 200, D. Teviotdale 200, M. A. M’Kenzie 200, G. C. Broughton 200, E. V. Bills 1, J. Barron 1, J. D. Knowles 1. Objects: Loan and finance agents. Holloway (Frank) and Co., Ltd. Registered as a private company May 11. Office: Spey street, Invercargill, Capital; £2OOO, in 2000 shares of £1 each. Subscribers: Invercargill—F. Holloway 1000, J. A. Holloway 1000. Objects: General merchants and storekeepers.

COMPANY PROFITS

RECOVERY IN AUSTRALIA

Profits earned by Australian companies last year were more than those for 1935, but well below those of 1928. The position is shown in detail by the National Bank of Australasia in analysing the profits of various companies, including banks, operating in the Commonwealth. The total disclosed net profits for the 262 companies aggregated £17,000,000 for 1936, a decrease of £4,000,000 as compared with 1928. For last year the return of disclosed net profits on paid-up capital was 8.6 per cent., and on total shareholders' funds 6.1 per cent., while the corresponding figures for 1928 were 11.1 per cent, and 8 -4 cent, respectively. The increase of £3,671,000 in net recorded profits between the years 1934 and 1936 is accounted for mainly by improved results in banks, manufacturing, mercantile, mining, and transport. The results ,of the investigation are summarised in the following table:—

The percentage to - hareholders’ funds was as follows:—Pastoral, 4.08 per cent.; banks, 3.23; essential services, 6.12; finance. 6.9; amusements. 2.29; manufacture. 7.72; mercantile, 6.72; mining. 9.09: and transport. 5,34 per cent. The experience of New Zealand companies would be more or less similar to those of Australia, except in mining.

MAKING NEWSPRINT | AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY ; Discussing the project for the manu- ; facture of newsprint in the Derwent 1 Valley, Tasmania, Sir Keith Murdoch, I

president of the Australian Newspapers Conference, said that except in AusI tralia newsprint had never been made from hardwoods. “ We have.” he said “ a lot of unknown factors to face in j I starting this industry. We must, for instance, get our wood out of the J

toresls more cheaply than lias ever been done i.. the Australian lumber industry. “Then we must put the pulp through technical processes which have succeeded in the past only when applied to long-fibre softwoods.

'• That.' Sir Keith Murdoch added. “ is why wo want to do this as newspapers. although we are newspaper publishers and not newsprint makers. If others had started this industry the terms would have beep onerous, and we do not know how far they would

have knocked newspaper costs about. Newspaper costs are, after all. an important consideration for the reading public and for the trading community “ We propose to risk our own money in testing this out, and to put up our

30,000-ton plant without going on the market for cash.” It is expected that the venture cat be started with an expenditure of £900,000 of new money, but ultimately ' it may be necessary to find £3,500,000

_ £ s. Commonwealth Bonds— 4 p.c., 1938 101 10 '.4 p.c., 1941 .• 102 15 4 p.c., 1944 103 17 4 p.c.. 1947 104 2 4 p.c., 1950 104 0 4 p.c., 1953 103 17 4 p.c., 1955 .... 102 10 4 p.c., 1957 .. .. .. .. 102 15 4 p.c., 1959 .. .." .. .. 103 5 4‘p.c., 1981 .. 103 5 Pitt, Son, and Badgery .. 2 9 Tooheys .. 1 13 Broken Hill Proprietary .. 3 18 Electrolytic Zinc .. .. .. 2 11 Electrolytic Zinc (pref.) .. 2 13 ADDITIONAL SALES Bank of New South Wales 36 2 Colonial Sugar .. .... 48 0 Burns, Philp . . .. ., 3 13 Australian Gas A .. ., 7 10 British Tobacco 2 10 Tooths .. .. .. .. 2 15 Tooheys ...... .. 113 Australian Glass .. ... 4 13 Dunlop . Perdriau , } .. .. 12 Goldsbrough. Mort .. .. 1 17 WiicoX'Mofllin .. .. .. 0 13 Anthony Hordern 0 19 General Industries .. 10 Claude Neon 2 13 Mauri Bros 3 5 d. 0 0 6 6 0 6 0 0 0 0 3 6 3 6 6 6 0 0 0 9 9 6 3 I 1 6 U 3 6 0 3 Stedman -.. .... 0 17 Pitt. Son and Badgery 2 9 0 J. Fielding 4 0 6 Hume Pipe (N.Z. delivery) 0 19 4 W.. R. Carpenter .. .. 2 3 6 Electrolytic Zinc 2 12 0 Electrolytic Zinc (pref.) 2 14 0 Mount Morgan .. .. 0 12 4 Mount Lyell .. .. .. . t 2 1 9

£ d. Howard Smith .. ,. 1 .0 0 British Tobacco .. .. 2 10 fl; Coles .. s 4 0 Australian Glass 4 12 e Dunlop Perdriau 1 2 e Dunlop Perdriau (oref.) 1 16 e Yarra Falls (rights) 0 8 6 Kauri Timber .. .. 1 4 o Mount Morgan .. ,. 0 12 A Mount Lyell .... ,. Broken Hill Pronv. 2 3 2 18 Cl S' North Broken Hill 3 11 6 3 South Broken Hill 2 7 Emperor 0 16 0 Loloma 0 19 9

Net Profits. Companies. 1928. 1935. 1936. £1,001) £1,000 £1,000 Agri. and pastoral (18) 1.592 403 890 Banks (8) 4,419 1,803 1.934 Essential services (17) 1,575 1,395 1,291 Finance (41) .. .. 1,114 806 991 Amusement (6) 241 no 114 Manufacture (83) .. 6,030 5,602 6,081 Mercantile (62) 2,905 1,740 2.132 Mining (11) .. .. 1,334 1,583 2,255 Transport (16) .. ,, 1,042 774 820 Totals (202) 21,108 14,285 17,108