NEW ZEALAND DRUG COMPANY.

Otago Witness, Issue 2299, 24 March 1898, Page 8

NEW ZEALAND DRUG COMPANY.

The annual meeting of Kempthorne, Prosser, and Company's New Zealand Drug Company was held at the company's warehouse in Stafford street on Thursday afternoon, Mr B. Sievwright (chairman of director?) presiding. The directors of the New Zealand Drug Company report for the year ended January 31 last that the stock has been takea at actual coit, doubly checked throughout, and the accounts subjected to close inspection. The net profit for the year amouuts to £12,922 19s 4d, from which I has been written off for depreciation of chemical I works, Auckland (before striking balance). £1000, leaving £11,922 19d 4d ; to which arid the balance from last year, £19,764 8-. lOd, making a total of £31,687 S^s 2d ; less dividend 31st Januaiy, 1897, | £5158 2-i 6J ; and interim dividend 3lst July, 1597, ! £5222 18s 9d— £10,331 Id 3d ; leaving to be de*lt I with £21,306 6s lid, which it i 3 proposed to apply I as follows :— Dividend to 31st January, 138S, at; j 7 per centum per annum, £5389 3s lid ; and carry I forward to next year, £15,917 33. | The report &nd ihebalar.ee sheet having been : taken as read, ! The Chaiiui&n said : Gentlemen, bsfore : mcving the adoption of the reporb and balance sheet one or two explanations in respect to the figures presented are necessary. Oa the liability i side the capital is increased from £149,224 10s last year to £153,974 10< ia the present balance, being an increass of £4750. This inccea»e has arisen from the sale during the year of some paid-up uusll )ttdd s!iar8 o , s;«id ou this sala ws got a premium of £764 17s 4d, as ee'i cur, in tha profit and loss aicount. and oC which you derive the bsneflfc, this sum now being included in the amount propossd to be carried forward. Tile uncalled capital is_ uqchanged and aho fie amount cf calls unpaid, but since c'osiug the balance we have advice from London that the ca'l iv arrear is noi p<iid up. 'lbs open cccount and bilis p&yahle aug by the company are £14.556 12 j 7d more th*n Ltsc ye=ir, aad thi3 hag arisen through increase of stcck and larger i'tiainess. The stock value lh?s year is £131,765 3 ■> 3 1 as against £114,023 6s 4d in 1897, being &v increase OS: £17,741 16* 11^. The wai'ehouses and works, land, building 1 , pan*;, and fixtures total in the proseut sheet £45,192 19s b<h and a', our JRsi; year's b.\lsnciiig perio 1 £42,607 18s, showing addif.icns during thtj-year of £2585 Is sd. The direccorf, have written off ?imco piauf, &c , a sum wh eh in their judgment they consider necessary for decree; 4,*<iou. The bills receivable 'in hard, £3429 Is 3d, s-.nd the outstanding accounts due us by cur cu-t jmers, £23 942 93 2d, after- the reserve provided we consider perfectly good, *nd this wnonal Looro than covers our liabilities O'itsiie of s>,a-e capita. Thfj profit and !o*B account 04.i»3 for no special c roimer.t beyond tho fact tliat the nub profib &Taiu-b',e is better than ia form^:-: years. With regard to the linaeed industry and our Barnside works section, 5.3 inforaistiou is generally sought at ou? menlings by eharcnoidors, I nan on'.y repeat in effect wh^fc I sr.id last- year — namely, thai; we r'anno*, uofcwiths""arding all tha expensa we have, gone to, and after the strenuous endeavaaro we have inado to get linseed I jcally grown (o k?op us going, ■we cannot get it done. The import cu^y of £1 par tin imposed by the Governcsiei»t prevents us carrying on this important industry without Joss. s'h? linseed oil cako is mush wau«ed by the farming community, and the linseed o 1 w« produce is tqn*l to anything made eLe where ; bat the tariff kills any oharc=, of j.-rcfis, Toi-; year very little lißseed will he grown aud, uiifortunately, our leporta from the farmers advise that an insect has attacked thg rco's of the plant andeatenihemchaaofc before m >tarity in the southern di-tricts. The tariff &Isj hampers us in cur ecid and manure eectioi', the Government bavinjr put on a duty ot 22 per cent, on «cid j>aekagis which we have to insport ; but thr-y »!low outside makeis of acid to scad in the same packages (which they c.mj.'d us to pay duty on), it S'.led from outside the colony -with aci'*, to corae in absolu^oly free, both for the patkigs and the acid contained therein. We have pointed out to the Goverunaent this inequality and iujustice to ua as local makers of t>cid, but we c.ia get no redresi beyond an expression of regret that the tariff places us in this position, and that it shall be amended when the taiiflc again ernies up for consideration. This reply, geallernep, I fear, does not g'.ve a very cheerful pso«pec* of immediate change, uolwithstandiug the fsrt that tha gospel preached is to encourage local Indus ries. We have, however, oar nnuey invested, and must go oa working this section, even ah a !oj*. Fortunttely, ouc business is a wide and diveissfied one, and we are able, co far, to make good in the genfral outcome the shortcomings of a, losing sscHon, and I can oniy now express (he hope that our complaint may ba speediiy remedied. We atk tor no favours, bub to be put on an even footing with outs : da competitors. In my lasl year's remade I mentioned that we should have to enlargs our business premised in Wellington, where cur want of room has now beeotao intensified, and the bovrti have determined to proceed ab ouco to eniarge the warehouse there, and thif, when liuishod, will give us one of the best and most p.oromid;ous wholesale drug warehouses sonta of the equttor. The site is in a first class business position. AU our hands have had a hard year's work, and I can only express tee hopu « hal the reiiulfe may be as gratifying to you ai is is to your board. I now with pleasure move the adoption of the report aad balance sheet. Mr A. Sligo, M.H.R, secouded the moti<n for the adoption <£ the report and balatca sheet. He thought that there could be no doubt whatever of the thorough success o? tha company's operations and of the t-fforts tbab the directors had made to keep the company in good scan-ling so as to secure geed resu'ts for the shareholders. Ha could see iiolhiog in respect to which the shareholder.* could rtflact upon the directors cr fiad fault with the balance sheet. Mr H. W. Mitchell said he only hoped that the. Government would see their way to put the company en a footing of equality with regard to the acids thai; came into the colony. It was very unfair that acids should be allowed to come iv free from outside the colony. Perhaps Mr SSigo would be able to do some hing in regard to the matter when he went to P-irlia- ' nient. j Mr Sligo : We have a Liberal Government i iv now, and I am afraid I can do nothing. | Thq motion for the adoption of tha report and balance sheet was then put, and carried unanimously. On the motion of Mr H. W. Mitcheix, the retiring directors, Mr B. Hallenstein and Dr OgstoD, wcro re elected. Mr J. Mill moved the re-election of the following auditors :— Messrs R. K. Gadick (Auckland"), A. Carrick (Christchurch), C. F. j Tovvles (Wellington), and William Brown and j Co. (Dunedin). ! The motion having bf en carried, j Dr Ogston returned thanks for his re-election '' as a director. Ha said the company seemed to have passed over troublous times and wero now getting into eisy times. All round business was better than last year, and in some casts markedly so. Tfce directors certainly hail done their best to keep a watch on thing', and he was sure they would try to do so in luture. He hoped that theconopany would have as eood

results in the future as they had had during the past year. Mr John Mill moved a vote of thanks to the directors nnd office staff. He thought that they had dove remarkably well during the past; year, and if they carried on as well as they had been doing the shareholders might look foiward to receiving afc no distant date a far bigger dividend than they were now getting. Tha motion was carried by acclamation, and, Mr Kempthornb having briefly acknowledged the vote on behalf of tho staff, the meeting terminated. j 1 I | i i ! | : I ! : ! ! I S ! ! J [ i ;