NATIONAL M. AND A. COMPANY OF NEW ZEALAND.

Otago Witness, Issue 2506, 2 April 1902, Page 10

NATIONAL M. AND A. COMPANY OF NEW ZEALAND.

(From Our Own Coerespoxdext.) LONDON, February 15. At Winchester House, Old Bro»d street, laat Wednesday afternoon, the twenty-si::th ordinary general meeting of shaielioldera 111 the National Mortgage and Agency Company of New Zealand was held. Mr H. E. Grenfell presided, and the attendance wa3 good. In moving the adoption of the report and balance sheet (which I sent you last wep-k), the Chairman said, with regard to the business of the year, the report informed the shareholders that New Zealand remained fairly prosperous. Shareholders would take that to mean that there was nothing very extraordinary about it. Intelligence received from New Zeeland tended to show that the f aimers there, who weie the company's main clients now, had done well in the past year on mest articles of production. The-re had been a serious fall 111 coar c e wool, but that had been very much made up in other articles. Ifaey now heard that the value of wool was recovering. To show liov, much their business was spread, the Chairman mentioned that at the branch where they did the largest business they had at the 30th September 763 debtors, of which 645 were under £500. Most of these weie short advances against stock and produce for saio locally. That was the class of business they were endeavouring by all the means in their power to cultivate at other branches, not only because it was much more, remunerative thnn advancing on pastoral securities, but because 11 ensured their having a large amount of eompaiatively liquid assets when money was leqiured to be called up in order to pay oS debentures. These were very important fact<=, that had very recently bp>en communicated to the 111 . At the last meeting their information had led them to suppose that the prosperity at tli3t time, which was extraordinary in the wool uiaiket, would have enabled them not only to do what they were doing — increase the reserve, — but also increase the dividend. But they bad had all the ascertained facts, and also information, that the wool trade was no ionger so good as it had been ; though it had been a marked feature in 1900 aud it had continued to some extent during that year, they had also had before them the undoubted aclvisableness of increasing the permanent reserve for contingencies, whe-never or wherever .they 1 should arise. Before sending out their present report (continued the Chairman) the board had two alternatives — namely, of increasing the divide id or bonus or of adding to the reseive. After much deliberation, and after obtaining information from their manager in the colony, they had determined to make the dividend 7i percent, for the year. They al=o determined to increase the reserve to £32,500. If the prosperity of the colony, including prosperity in tho wool trade, should return to what it wa3 in 2900, then thej could return to the figures he had hoped to place before that meeting. As to the accounts, the first item showing capital authorised issued and forfeited was precisely as last year. The debentures issued wore about £12,000 more than last year. The £7000 upon loan and securities in London ipquired no explanation, as it simply repiesented the state of the bank- ■ r.g account at the close of the year — " shop diessing." as it was called among bankers. — (Laughter.) But tho debentures issued were £12,000 more than last year. Sundry creditors showed much less than last yeai. On the <rcdit side of the balance sheet, goods or. hand and indant= were again somewhat moro, for lea^ons he had before explained— viz., that the commercial business was still increasing, while loans on mortgage and secured accounts contihued to diminish. Now the^e loans on mortgage and secured accounts were £223,700. whereas at one time they were upwards of £400,000. Current accounts showed, for obvious reasons, a marked increase. With regard to cash and investments, they remained about the same as last year. They consisted of certain investments made in England, and certain shares held in various companies in the colony, of which Messrs Levin and Company' was a princiual one. These investments — the London investments — gave £5 2s 8d por cent, at the figure they were written down to. The gross profit of the year was £64,125, against £58,000 in round figures* while the carry-over was not very different from its predecessor. The total on the credit side was £63,000 in round figures. On the debit side the charges wore £22,000, against an almost similar sum. The amount of income tax was slightly leß3, and the debeture interest £2000 less. These figures gave a ba'ance of £27,600, out of which an interim dividend of £5832 had been paid in July. It was row proposed to repeat this, to give a bonus of Gd per shaie, to increase the reserve to £52,300, n"d to carry forwaid £6318. .He concluded by moving the adoption of the repci t. Mr Lawrer.ep said if fie colony was in a normal state oi prc-pentv, and they hiid made £SI2G moic pi ofi t th;s year than last, then the dividend should 1-avc been increased. He thought the conservative policy had been o\ er-dcr-e. Mr Davidson siid the board had for years been careful to nurse tho cnmp'iiy pi'o its present !i?althy co, dit on He w.ts in constant cmniunicntion with the co'onv, <md lie thou«i't the prcaPiit balance '-hoot perhaps as goo'l 'is any that the company had t-vei issued. Hia = -ets 111 t':e balance sheet v. ere nov valued on a much more moderate bas:« than in tue oldfMi ti:u"s, u-!"»n the pr'ee3 of produce v.ere 1. fated Mi Lawienco referred to New Ze 1- ' md having had <^n ordniaiiij pio«perou>. yea'-. (Mr Lawience Accoidmg to the cliaunian.) Perhaps tl>e ch<urmav> had stretched a po.ut th-re lr-ofr.r fs New Zeaim.d had had a serious ■=et Kuk ip I':e \nkie of it-, crossbred v.'.o', ;>'i \,bcat had b' en Afiy low indeed. Ip the o!d nifl.ted da^ s m'.'j; was worth 5s a; i Ji. Cd a bu a hel. He len'^mbdecl n farmer cruirbhnp b?cdiise h" only got -Is 6d a bushel nl.ei he had 36 bushels io the acre, wjth 300 o c '00 .icrrs. AVlieot ir Nev Zealand was j,ow on' , woith 2s Gd New Zealind at the present Lip ; 0"\ no' seem <-o prosutrcus at it wns (luriiic; the last two or three vcars — at least it di' 1 not luri'i; as if thw.ss wer? c.oing to b? quite <-o [jicmkiou- He s.'icl tin' because of the low \^h:e aUaohiii" to the lait;e propoihon of wool t; it N\-,; Ze.il.-rd exported, aid also because . ttiiu* 1 . \>tu \t-ix J-<jw. it was tiue that oats had

j had a fair price, and that they bore out the old „ saying that it v.-as au ill wind that blerr nobody 1 any good, because New Zealand during the last three or four years had profited very considerably by the misfortunes of Austialia with droughts and the war. Taking cal iato consideration he would not call thi= year a very prcsperous one in New Zealand — it was fairly prosperous. — (Mr Lawrence: Normal.) Well, fairly normal. As to what the dividend thould be, the board had considered the matter very caiefully. 2.1r Lawrence Then we may take it that TV per cent, is the high-water mark for some time to come? Lord Hampden : It doss not follow at all. The motion adopting the . report was then carried with one dissentient — Mr Lawrence. The retiring directors and auditors having been re-elected, a vote of thanks to the chairman, the board, the general manager, and staff in the colony, and the secretary and London staff closed the proceedings.