COMPANY BALANCE SHEETS.

Otago Witness, Issue 3833, 30 August 1927, Page 50

COMPANY BALANCE SHEETS.

NEW ZEALAND MEAT PRODUCERS’ BOARD. •t — Accumulated •Period to fund. Investment?, ieurplus. June 30. £ i- £

•Fifteen and a-half months* trading. The Meat Producers’ Board, after little more than five years’ existence, _ has acquired considerable funds to which each 12 months’ trading brings a further increment. The surplus for 1926-27 is £12,952, which has practically all found its way into investments. The annual surplus is fluctuating with a tendency towards giving its best results each alternate year, the latest being the best yet recorded for any 12-monthlv period. No shipping strike has occurred on this occasion to interfere with the steady flow of frozen meat shipments from New Zealand to Smithfield, and while there has been a marked falling off in the quantity of beef handled, the shipments of both mutton and lamb have increased. The royalty amounts to £31,591, as against £29,303 for the prior year, and, after meeting all charges, is sufficient to leave a comfortable margin. A further and growing item of revenue is interest on investments, which has now risen to £2772. A diminution of some £2OOO has taken place in the expenditure, mainly through reduced advertising. With the closure of the exhibitions at Wemblev and Dunedin, this section of the work has returned to its normal channels. The ordinary expenditure otherwise shows little variation. Placing expenses and revenue opposite one another gives the following relations—viz.:—

The balance sheet shows the accumulated funds to consist mainly of liquid assets. The chief fixture is office furn'shings at £1247, after being subjected to 10 per ~~ cent, depreciation, the capital expenditure for the year having apparently outbalanced the wastage allowance. Live stock, experiments in freezing, and displays are rcsponble for £477 —a figure which it might be difficult to attain on realisation. The refrigeration plant and cabinet, valued at £199. has now been disposed of and has apparently realised “nil” as it appears in full as an item of expenditure. It might, however, not unfittingly have found a place in the balance sheet and been written off underBeath by the amount of the loss. The bulk of the liquid assets is composed of investments (£59,000), which are all placed in New Zealand Government Inscribed Stock at varying returns. The annual surplus, being virtually all cash, is straightway available for disposal. The per cent, investment has received the larger addition and the amounts arc all entered in round figures. Whether they

represent the purchase or the nominal price is not clear, but, as their aggregate .has not been invested for the whole period, the full benefit has not yet been Telt. Sundry debtors, which concern the head office only, amount to £4078. Presumably that sum is made up partly of levies due, but unpaid, and partly of interest accrued but not received. In cither case the work of collection should not involve any great labour. The cash at bankers is barelv sufficient to meet the sundry creditors, who are also distributed between the head and London offices, but the head office bank account would doubtless soon be replenished by the sundry debtors on realisation. Seeing that the Meat Producers' Board is a body that exists for the benefit of the farmer and through him for the benefit of the Dominion generally, it. would be interesting to know how far it intends to proceed with the piling up of funds, and whether some portion of the surplus could not be utilised in reducing the amount of the levy. THE WELLINGTON WOOLLEN MANUFACTURING COMPANY, LIMITED. Paid-up General Gross Dividend, capital. reserves. profit. prel. ord.

* Approximate. I’or the third successive rear, this company is able to pay a 10 |>er cent, dividend on both classes of shares after meeting the needs of depreciation and adding to reserves. The depression which has existed for some time in the woollen manufacturing industry has not yet been relieved —according to the directors’ report it has become more accentuated recently—and a net profit practically the same as that of the previous season may be deemed a satisfactory result.- The paid-up capital is in creasing annually, and a 10 per cent, dividend now absorbs some £3OOO more than it did two years ago. If the more recently issued capital had been in circulation for the full period, a distribution of 10 per cent, would not have been possible with out encroaching on reserves.

The net profit of £29,487, which is slightly up from that of a year ago, continues the fall in the annual rate of return as will be seen below—viz..

The. paid-up capital is more than twe and a-half times its amount of eight years ago, and the fact that the net profit is only slightly altered allnstrates the keen competition that is taking place in the trade.

The bank overdraft has fallen from £104,661 to £44,165 which, even allowing for the assistance given by the calls paid, is a good piece of work. To a certain extent, sundry creditors by rising from £42,722 to £69,699 must have assisted to bring about this result by transferring the liability from one heading to another, but the total liabilities have dropped from £149,909 to £116,455. This reduction following upon a substantial reduction during the prior year speaks favourably for the progress of the company. Reserves aro being well maintained. General .reserve has benefited by an addition of £2OOO, bringing it up to £52,000. while the account earmarked for fire insurance at £lO,BOO brings the aggregate to £62,800, or 21.29 per cent, of the paid-up capital. The reserves are now employed entirely in the business. The customary depreciation allowance of £5OOO more than outweighs the additions made to the buildings, plant, and fittings during the year. The same wastage figure has been faithfully adhered to for a number of years, although since 1919 the valuation of the* relative assets has nearly trebled. Deterioration in the later extensions has now had some time to operate, and is likely to do so in an increasing degree annually. There is nothing to indi cate how the valuation of £223,010 is divisible between its respective sections, nor in what proportions the depreciation provision is applied to each. Freehold land remains at £11,433, constituting approximately 5 per cent, of the fixed assets, which at £233,233 come to 47.37 per cent, of the total assets.

The greater part of the liquid funds is placed in stock which, at £201,981. has been reduced by some £20,000. As "it is the asset which is largely responsible for tho gross profit, its valuation is an allimportant matter. Whether the reduction in value means a corresponding reduction in bulk is not ascertainable, but the fact that such a reduction has been effected, without impairing the gross profit to any great extent, leads to he assumption that sales are well holding their own. Sundry debtors and bills receivable, after being subjected to an allowance of over 10 per cent, for bad debts and discounts, stand at £56,560, forming practicallv the bal ance of the assets. As they by themselves are insufficient to pay off the sundry creditors by about one-half, it is readily seen that until stock is i educed considerably further or more capital paid into the business, there are no funds to provide for the ordinary working of the company without recourse to borrowing. As the capital stands, there is only a further £5OOO available for calling up. and about one-half of that sum is held as deposits against contingent calls. The resources of capif al as a means of providing more money are thus practically exhausted unless steps can be taken to increase tho nominal amount.

THE STANDARD INSURANCE COMPANY, LIMITED.

Paid-up Capital: 1919. £75.000: 1920-24 £100,000; 1925-27, £150,000.

e Excluding bonus dividend of 5s per share to meet call.

lhe latest annual statement of accounts gives every' indication of a successful season. lhe figures are on a greater scale than hitherto, and bring out a greater profit as the result. Thanks to a large accession to the premiums collected, the meomo has made a long stride upwards, and the profit in consequence shows a return of 43.32 per cent. The dividend is recommended at its former rate of 16 2-3 per cent., the balance making a handsome contribution to reserves.

The directors’ report states that a sum of £50,000 has been capitalised by declaring a special bonus dividend of 5s per share, and simultaneously making a call of 5s per share. This transaction has not affected the 1926-27 accounts, and tho assumption is that it takes effect from commencement of the current season Thus the strengthening of the reserves, especially during the year lately closed, has benefited shareholders directly bv their holdings being increased by oiie-third. and indirectly by increasing the stability of the company. On this occasion, it is the reserve for unexpired risks that hag chiefly benefited the addition being 30,000. With the premium income considerably enhanced and the risks correspondingly so, it is a matter ot ordinary prudence to attend to the strengthening of this department of reThe _ general fund has received £lO 000, bringing it up to £200.000. It \ s . r‘ ,s f un d t^lat has to provide the bonus dividend of £50,000 which, although merely a book entry, involves a liability of 33 1-3 per cent, greater when the dividend falls to bo met. Other reserve units are the same taxation provision of £15.000 and the slightly large appropriation of £l7 832 against depreciation of securities. The undivided profits carried forward are reduced by some £3O owing to the allocation exceeding the profit bv that amount After allowing for the capitalisation of £50.000. reserves stand at 162.83 per cent, of the paid-up capital. The, rebate granted on premiums stood at 12 ? per cent, during the period, as against 10 per cent, for o”e-half and ]2A per cent, for tho other half of the prior year .The rise in the premium income of one-third, thus owes nothing to any fluctuation in this concession, ft is interesting to note that with tho increase in the income, there is a more than proportional increase in the losses The relative figures since 1918 are as follows, viz.; —

Premium Dosses. income. Patio.

The above columns indicate fairly clearly that the larger the turnover the more intricate the matter of selection becomes owing to the greater risks that may be accepted.

The sundry creditors form the comparatively low sum of £5814, causing a mortgage of £15,000 to add considerably to the general indebtedness. The chief liability, however, consists of the appropriation of £52,550 for claims and losses in process of settlement. They are equivalent to 32.93 per cent, of the year’s total, but there are no means of ascertaining what relation the individual classes of business bear to their respective totals. Exclusive of deposits, . investments now amount to £409,434. The greater part of the money is placed in New Zealand and Australian Government securities, either War, Loans or debentures. The interest on investments received is entered at £22,865, which gives an approximate average. return of 5j per cent. Possibly rents are included, as the return seems high, especially in view of the fact that all the investments were not producing revenue for the full period. The appropriation to meet any depreciation in securities at £17.832 has been raised by some £3oo—- — a gain on realisation on sale of investments. From the nature of the securities, the allowance to meet fluctuation seems fully sufficient. Large balances are retained in cash in bank and on hand. They aggregate £38,334, but are less than the balances at head office and branches, which come to £57,532. The latter item is somewhat indefinite in its designation, and may comprise, inter alia, premiums accrued but not yet due, and due but not yet overdue, concerning which the balance sheet is silent.

The fixed assets, represented by the company’s offices and other property, come to £94,993, subject to the deduction of a mortgage of £15,000. The depreciation allowance of £1450 looks relatively small, but as it stands the book value of the property is probably well within its market value, the tendency of which will be to rise rather than fall. As a factor in the revenue, the premises may bring an annually-increasing contribution, and may prove the most profitable investment of all.

THE COMMERCIAL BANK OF AUSTRALIA, LIMITED. Pail-up General Dividend cupitul. reserves. Net profit, prel. ord.

This bank has advanced considerably in recent years, and during its latest financial period the progress has been well maintained. In the five years since June, 1922, the paid-up capital has been increased by approximately one-third, and the net profit by approximately one-half. Perhaps the most striking testimony is that, concurrently, the general reserves, aided by premiums on fresh issues of capital, have multiplied over thirtyfold. The net profit in this instance is £341.711 —some £24,000 higher than that of 192520 —and is equivalent to a return of 10.36 per cent, on the paid-up capital as it stood at the closing date. Strangely it is almost identical with the rate of return for the prior year, notwithstanding the growth of capital in the interval.

The distribution to the proprietors is on the former basis of 4 per cent, to the preference and 15 per cent, to the ordinary shareholders. Owing to the predominance of the former class, the dividend over both works out at 7.10 per cent. There is thus 3.26 per cent, of the surplus left to sw ll reserves, and, after special allotments are made to reserve fund and bank premises, the undivided profits carried forward are raised to £81.760.

The expenditure, as entered in the profit and loss account, ;.mounts to £650,740. As might be expected, this figure is moving up in sympathy with the others, and has risen farther during the past year than during its predecessor. It comprises salaries and allowances, rent, and general charges, but omits taxation, provision for bad and doubtful debts, and for “other contingencies.” The gross amount as brought out. after those and other deductions have been made, is £922,451.

The indefinite group among the liabilities —-viz., “bills payable and other liabilities” —at £1.665,900, is larger by’ some £360.000. The substantial growth made by this item need not be ascribed entirely to increased indebtedness. Reserves for contingencies may. and probably do. play < greater part in its advance. Notes in circulation have risen from £104,087 to £176,124, and afford an interesting indication of the tendency of the New Zealand section of the business. The movement of the chief liability, deposits, is upward to the extent of nearly £500,000. On the other side advances h ve risen over £2,000,000. In each case the movement is unaltered, but, while advances have increased their pace, deposits have reduced theirs. The respective positions at the last si balancing dates have been as follow —viz.:

The relation during the past 12 months has followed the same course as that of the majority’ of banks, and it remains to be seen whether the steps recently taken by the banks in conclave to remedy matters will have the desired effect. All advances are liable to interest, but not all deposits, and the relation of the interestbearing section to the non-interest bearing is of importance in this connection. Among the i.ssets the i tern of coin, bullion, etc., raised to £3,779,753, occupies second place. Invested funds aggregate £2,608.200, the bulk of which is realisable at call or at short notice. The necessity of retaining the greater part of the investments in liquid form indicates that the drain by advances upon the bank is not considered to be over. To be compelled to find in one year over £2,000,000 for advances, of which barely one-quarter could be contributed by increased deposits, must involve no light strain upon the invested funds, and illustrates how essential it is that reserves be kept up to the mark even, if need be, at the expense of dividends. Bv the addition of £300,000 during the neriod reserve fund has reached £1.300.000. For this increase it is mainly indebted

to the issue of new shares, although profits have contributed their quota. When the undivided surplus is added reserves aggregate £1.381,760, bringing their relation to the paid-up capital to 41.88 per cent. In addition, there are reserves of unknown amount contained among the general group in the liabilities. A further reserve allowance takes the form of redueng the book value of the bank premises by £25,000. Considerable capital expenditure has taken place on the buil’dings, and after allowance for the above reduction they’ now appear at £74G,760. This bank, ‘judged by the number of new branches opened during the past year, is growing with remarkable rapidity, and the property it now possesses for carrying on the work of 549 offices must be sufficiently valuable to allow of the valuation being a conservative one. THE AUSTRALIAN BANK OF COMMERCE, LTD. Paid-up Ket

During the past three years the paid-up capital of this bank has increased some ~ ,l Jer ccn L> reserves have increased 144 per cent, lhe net profit of £218,067 is 52 per cent, higher than that of 1923-24 and the rate of dividend is up 1 per cent’ Such results speak of all-round progress. It is noticeable, however, that whereas for the earlier season the division of the surplus allowed some 5 per cent, to be placed to icseite, the latest allocation, after meeting the 8 per cent, dividend, left a balance equivalent to per cent, on the paid-up capital at the ciose. The tendency appears to have been lately to increase the portion of the surplus allotted to shareholders, with a consequent reduction of the amount applied to reserves. Owing to premiums on new issues of shares, reserves, as their iccent growth show, are well able to dispense with some measure of assistance from the profits, and now that they have reached their present substantial figure can afford to grant a liberal proportion of the surplus to shareholders.

Tho customary items are mentioned as having been taken into account before the net profit was arrived at. The amounts of two —graduated taxes, and interest on inscribed deposits—are entered. The latter charge wiil appear no more, as the deposits have been paid off, and, although in acting thus, the bank has sacrificed the benefit of acquiring some £200,000 at the cheap rate pi 4 per cent., it is considered that its action will increase its prestige. In the matter of advances and deposits, evidence of the general trend is given in the respective figures as tho under-noted colums show, viz.: — Advances, etc. Deposits, etc. Hatio.

Although an increase is recorded in the ratio when contrasted wtih those of the two previous years, the position compares favourably with the earlier seasons. As tbs heading for deposits includes “other liabilities,” and the advances group contains “ other assets,” the information disclosed by the balance sheet is insufficient to ascertain tho exact relations between th© two. Deposits may include some provision for contingencies, and, if so, the position would be materially altered. In this connection, it may be pointed out that under different headings in the balance sheet the words “ and other ” occur with somewhat. confusing frequency. Perhaps the most prominent feature of the other liquid assets is the comparatively small portion placed in permanent investments. Grouped with British Treasury bills, tho aggregate is £351,318, or .rather less than one-fourth of the amount held in Australian notes and cash with the Commonwealth Bank, while it is only slightly more than the money iu London (£349,542), partly with the bankers and partly at short call. When it is consideied advisable to retain the sum of £1,464,784 with the Commonwealth Government in such an easily realisable form, it looks as if the demand for advances in the near future is expected to be out of proportion to the money received. The disparity of the amount compared with the deposits made by Government cannot but command attention.

The fixed property, subjected to a further writing down of £lO,OOO, keeps at what appears a conservative figure. The valuation of £365,307 probably leaves a useful margin to add to the stability of the institution.

An indication of the rapid progress of reserve fund is given when comparing it with the paid-up capital. There has been no looking back, and in spite of the increased capital, reserve fund continues to creep up closer annually. The relative positions for eight years are below—viz.: —

Reserve fund has been fed partly from profits, but chiefly from premiums on share issues, the respective contributions for the past season being £50,000 and £131,120. Its growth is a strong testimony to the regard with which the bank is held by its shareholders. THE UNION BANK OF AUSTRALIA, LIMITED.

The net profit of £627,426 is practically the same as that for the preceding year, the small increase recorded in the gross return being neutralised by the greater expenditure. The manner of the disposal of the surplus is unchanged, and, except for a reduction of £lB5 in the contribution to the floating balance, the respective figures are unchanged also. The allocation compares with the previous three years as follows—viz.,

As the capital has been increased, the net profit has fallen slightly behind proportionally, requiring a larger proportion of the surplus to meet the customary 15 per cent, dividend. Although additions have been made recently to the paid-up capital on three occasions, reserves manage to keep well ahead of it. The shares being issued at an average premium of 100 per cent., reserves lose no ground on that account. The allotment of the sum of £lOO,OOO out of net profits to reserves has been made annually for some time, but in the last two instances a moiety has been transferred to provision for new buildings instead of the whole being placed to reserve fund. The reserve fund now stands at the substantial figure of £4,250,000, and, even if the contemplated new issue of shares took the form of a bonus issue, would still bear the high proportion of 93.75 per cent, to the paid-up capital. It is noticeable that, while the reserve fund has been growing, the British Government securities earmarked for that purpose have remained at £1,000,000. The slight interest recorded in the general investments (£1,217,075), which consist oi British and colonial Government sccurities, is satisfactory in view of the increase in tire advances group. Money at call and short notice in London has apparently been utilised to meet a part of the demanil of advances, and at £550,000 is down to almost one-half of its figure of February, 1926. The bills receivable group, reduced to £6,388,926. could-furnish £1,000,000 for the same purpose. Specie on hand and cash balances, at £6,928,994, continue to .”i w, and the same remark applies to bullion and advances on bullion. The chief asset—bills discounted, loans, and other securities —covers a wide field The assumption is that it mainly consists ot advances, and that the increase of over £-.250.000 is due to them. Ou the other side, deposits have grown larger by some £500,000, a distinct improvement on their course of the prior 12 months. Placing the respective amounts of each since 1918 opposite one another gives the following relations—viz..

Deposits—a clean-cut designation—when compared with previous years, can scarcely be said to show more than an ordinary fluctuation, the tendency of which meanwhile is upward. It is the large increase iu the advances, which have attained a higher level than even that of 1920-21, that has caused the rise iu the ratio’ rhe figures are those of a specific date only, and may or may not give a fair indication of the positions prevailing throughout the period. The inclusion of ‘’other securities” with advances does not help to make matters clearer, but. as the'result coincides with the experience of other banks at the present time, it may be gathered to be approximately accurate.

The other liabilities are circulation ,t £592,084 (a considerable drop from February. 1926,1. and the sundries -roup, which has risen to £4.378.574, or some £700.000. The fluctuations in this grouu may be ascribed to bills payable chiefly, but reserves may also play a part. Presumably the sum of £50,000 transferred from pronts to provision for new buildings uiias a place here. The fixed assets remain at the low figure of £388.752. Their book value lias been diminishing in recent years owing to the gradual writing down of the Lon” don leasehold by the interest accruing on the relative reserves. The additions to the premises in Australia and New Zealand have apparently been met out of profits—a method of adding to reserves which, while taking visible form, is likely to briiw in a useful return in appiwi iting property values. The revenue in rent, both from premises occupied and nremises let, is likely to yield a high rate < f -interest and to contribute materially ti the strength of the balance sheet.

1923 24,386 17,000 24,386 1924 32,745 25,000 8,360 1925 43,913 36,000 11,168 1926 ... ... 51,781 46,500 7,868 1927 61,733 59,COO 12,952

Total expenses. £ Gross revenue. £ Eatio. p.c. 1922-23 ... 18.593 42,979 43.26 1923-24 ... 21,896 30,256 72.37 1924-25 ... 20,147 31,315 61.34 1925-29 ... 23.498 31.366 74.91 1926-27 ... 21,410 34,363 62.30

June 30. £ £ £ p.c. p.c 1919 ... 115,350 76,276 59,911 13 13 1920 ... 149.830 M.48C 86.824 13 13 1921 ... 179,932 93.025 81.924 15 15 1922 ... 200,000 90,725 82,773 14 14 1923 ... 200,000 92,896 83,051 14 14 1924 ... 249,470 56,436 71,177 13 13 1925 ... 2G4.887 G0.81I 70,346 10 10 1926 ... 279,918 63,201 68.598 10 10 1927 ... 294,930 *64,000 65,378 10 10

Paid-up Net capital. profit. Petti m £ £ p.c. 1918-19 ... 115,350 - 29.403 25.49 1919-20 ... 149,830 36.526 24.38 1950-21 ... 179,932 23,848 16.03 1921-22 ... 200,000 19,404 9.70 1922-23 ... 200.000 30,122 15.06 1923-24 ... 249,470 31.586 12.6'6 1924-25 ... 264,887 29,932 11.30 1925-26 ... 279,918 29,454 10,52 1926-27 ... 294.936 29,487 9.99

June 30. Reserves. £ Incomes. £ Dividend Profit, with bonus. £ p.c. UH!) 192.072 155.240 32,654 16 2-3 11120 217,836 177,643 34,117 133 1321 257,741 202,082 40.083 15 1022 280,7-12 196,752 33,274 15 1923 308,780 210,560 45,170 17.i 1021 332,229 210,831 45,462 *22 A 1025 304,118 230,331 50,419 15 J 1026 335,372 240,247 50,860 16 2-3 1927 375,652 315,503 61,971 16 2-3

£ £ p.c. 1018-19 63,23!) 142.677 44.32 1919-20 73.331 165,054 44.43 1920-21 77,451 168,625 41.06 1921-22 R7.224 161.454 48.07 1922-23 90.203 19’.914 46.52 1923-24 91.230 192,796 47.32 1924-25 96.978 210.926 45.93 1925-20 104.037 219.509 47.40 1926-27 159.571 292,719 54.51

Juno 30 £ £ £ p.c. P.O. 1922 2,153.913 42,209 228,081 4 15 192.1 2,468.877 144,786 234.419 4 15 1924 2.G26.928 414.954 264,542 4 15 1925 2,800,805 767.570 305,536 4 15 1926 3.065.722 1.OG6.141 317,707 4 15 1927 .3,299,050 1,381,760 311,711 4 15

General advances. Deposits. 'Ratio £ £ p c. 1921-22 ... 10,559,092 16.187,721 62.2.1 1922-23 ... 12.103,986 17,061,414 70.91 1923-24 ... 13,915,878 17,4511,054 79.71 1924-25 ... 14,273.166 19,666,798 i2.5» 1925-26 ... 16,206,754 20.615,561 78.61 1926-27 ... 18,381,000 21.102,190 87.10

June 30. capital. £. Beserves. £ profit. £ Div dud p.c. 1920 1,200.000 228 813 118,391 1921 1,200,000 1,200,000 280*391 139,578 GA 1922 323 587 137,196 1923 1,200 000 370.265 140,253 7 1924 1,200,000 419,518 113,253 1925 1,840,000 794,560 180.766 " L 1926 1,840.000 845 303 207,943 8~ 1927 2,194,239 1,026*, 664 218,067 8

£ p.c. 1919-20 ... 7,176,809 8,108,520 8S.51 1920-21 ... 8,141,832 8,5GO.I11 35.11 1921-22 ... 8,157,958 3,403.111 86.76 1922-23 ... 9,172,613 10,257,203 83.43 1923-21 ... 9.351,298 10,342,410 30.41 1921-25 ... 9,123,345 11,234 435 80.78 1925-26 ... 10,334,004 12.463’523 82.31 1926-27 ... 11,463,057 13.201,514 80.83

Paid-up Reserve fund. capital. Ratio j? £ p.c. 1919-20 ... 200,000 1,2'00,000 1G.C7 1920-21 ... 250.000 1,200,000 20.83 1921-22 ... 290,000 ... 330,000 1 200,000 24.17 1922-23 1,200,000 27.50 1923-24 ... 370,000 1,200,000 30.83 1924-25 ... 740,000 1,840,000 40.22 1925-26 790.000 1 810.000 42.93 1926-27 ... 1,000,000 2,194,239 45.57

l'uid-np ■ capital. General reserves. Net profit. 1 Divn.l, Feb. 28. £ £ £ p.C. 1913 ... 2.000 000 2,288.614 •180,340 14 11)20 ... 2,.500*000 2.911.716 458.102 15 1!)21 ... 2,500,00(1 3,020 557 516.310 15 1922 ... 3,000 000 3,336’818 536,261 15 1923 ... 3,000’000 3,439,712 552.894 15 1924 ... 3,000,000 3.540 003 550,292 1 5 1925 ... 3,500,000 4.242*902 590,398 15 1926 ... 3,500 000 4.295,513 627,611 15 1927 ... 3.500.000 4,347.939 . 627.426 15 ♦Six months’ trading only. Kingdom income tax. • fFree el United

Net profit. Divclnd. Ratio. Reserves. Ratio. £ £ p.c. £ p.c. 1323-21 550 292 450,000 81.77 100,292 IB. 23 1924-25 5!K)’:»8 487,500 82.57 102,898 17.43 1925-26 627.611 525.000 83.65 102,611 16.35 1926-27 627,426 525,000 83.68 102 426 16.32

Bills discounted, etc. Deposits. Hot io. £ £ p.C. 1918-19 ... 21.909,004 26,136,296 83.86 1919-20 ... 19.763.256 31.840.563 62.07 1920-21 ... 28,766,010 29,531.558 1'0.63 1921-22 ... 24.970.960 29.187.724 85.55 1922-23 ... 26,350,356 .31.390.819 83.94 1923-24 ... 25.983.296 32.838,018 79.13 1924-25 ... 26.2 74’.751 33,995,484 77.29 1925-26 ... 26.778.147 32.038.237 83.68 1926-27 ... 29.088,976 32,545,478 89.38