COMMERCIAL

Southland Times, Issue 19516, 16 May 1922, Page 2

COMMERCIAL

STOCK EXCHANGE. YESTERDAY’S SITTING. Sale: Southland Frozen Meat, £1 ord., at £1 4/3 (two parcels); sales reported— N.Z. Sugar of Milk at £1 5/6; War Bonds, 1930, at £94. 1938 at £93 7/6 (two parcels) and £93 1776. Following are the latest quotations (subject to brokerage):— Bank of New Zealand, sellers £2 12/3. Union Bank, sellers £l3. N.Z. Coal & Oil, sellers 3/3. Westport Coal, sellers £1 10/-. New Zealand Insurance, buyers £1 8/6. South British Insurance, buyers £1 15/3. Southland Farmers’ Co.-op., ord., sellers £2. New Zealand Milk Products, buyers £1 2/-. N.Z. Sugar of Milk, sellers £1 11/-. Southland Frozen Meat, £1 ord., buyers £1 4/-, sellers £1 5/-; 10/- ord., buyers 11/6, sellers 12/6; £1 pref., buyers £1 4/-. Huddart Parker (ord.), sellers £2 8/-. Bruce Woollen Mills (12/6 paid), buyers 15/-. Otago Daily Times, buyers £2 5/-. Papuan Products, sellers Bd. War Bonds (1938), buyers £93 5/-, sellers £93 15/-. Inscribed Stock (1939), sellers £94. Soldiers’ Settlement Bonds, sellers £9B 15/-. OAMARU MARKETS. OAMARU, May 13. The fine weather has enabled good progress to be made with threshing operations, and a good quantity of wheat has come to hand during the week. What is being forwarded now has been threshed from the stack, and consequently the quality is better, but there are dirty lines, the presence of foreign grams still being fairly prevalent. Millers are inclined to stand off, and anything that is not really prime and clean is not easily disposed of. A fairly large quantity has been disposed of for milling purposes, and transactions range from 1000 sacks downwards of mixed varieties. A fairly large quantity of fowl wheat is coming forward, but a good deal of it is smutted, and this class is not- easily disposed of. The market for this class of wheat is easier than it was a week ago. The market for oats is weaker. Threshing is in progress in Southland, and a large quantity of under-grade Oats is being put on the market. The crops ifi Southland are heavy, and the stocks on hand appear to be more than sufficient- for the consumptive demand. Super A grade Gartons are now worth about 2/6 per bushel and B grade about 2/3, on trucks at country stations. There is no sign of any improvement in regard to barley. There is no demand, and the market is absolutely lifeless. The market for seeds is easier all round. There is nothing offering from growers, and the demand is practically nil. There is a very healthy tone about the sheep market, and the number of transactions recorded is limited only as a result of the difficulty in securing supplies. The price for fat lambs dropped id per lb yesterday, making a decline of Ad per lb in a fortnight. The current rate ia 7Jd per. lb. A large quantity of fat stock has been sent to the freezing works during the week. Owing to the abundance of feed there is a keen inquiry for store wethers ready for fat tening. Young ewes for breeding are also in good request, but great difficulty is experienced in securing stock of this description. Wethers suitable for butchers ’requirements find a ready sale, and animals of this class have been disposed of at up to 26/6. Good, forward rape lambs are also in demand. A fair-sized line of fat wethers was sold at 22/6. At the Waiareka yards on Tuesday the entry of fat sheep totalled about 2000. A really good sale took place, lambs selling particularly well. One pen realised 31/6 the top price for the season. Prime lambs fetched from 25/6 to-27/6; extra, 29/- to 31/6; medium, 22/- to 24/6; prime ewes, 12/6 to 14/6; extra, to 16/3; medium, 9/to 11/-; prime wethers, 21/- to 22/6; extra, to 24/6; medium, 18/6 to 20/6. In the store sheep section, sound-mouth ewes brought from 14/6 to 17/6; failing-mouth ewes, 5/6; halfbred wethers, 18/- to 20/-; store lambs, 17/6 to 21/9. At Duntroon dn Wednesday best lambs realised from 22/9 to 24/-; medium, 21/- to 22/6; best ewee, 15/6; medium, 12/6 to 14/-; fat wethers, to 26/-. In store sheep eight-tooth ewes sold up to 20/-; best aged ewes, 12/6 to 13/6; culls, 4/9 to 6/9; four, six, and eight-tooth halfbred wethers, 16/- to 18/5; sound-mouth, to 14/3. . There was a good demand for store lamb®, best realising 19/6 to 21/9 and medium 17/- to 18/6. Current prices may be quoted as follows: Very forward rape lambs, 21/- to 23/-; good, 18/6 to 21/-; six and eight-tooth breeding ewes, 22/6; very forward wethers, 20/-; store wethers, 18/6 to 21/-; four, six, and eight-tooth forward wethers, 17/6; medium halfbreds, 14/6 to 16/-; good store lambs, 16/6; medium, 15/- to 17/6; full and failing-mouth ewes, 11/6. The cattle market is practically lifelees, the only demand being for good young dairy cows coming to profit. At Waiareka some 12 dairj' cows were offered, and those close to profit realised from £9 to £lO 10/-, while late calverfl fetched £5 10/- to £6 10/-. The bulk of the entry of cattle at Duntroon comprised two and three-year-old steers, for which there was no inquiry.

COLONIAL SUGAR REFINING COMPANY. For the year ended March 31, 1.921, the Colonial Sugar Refining Company (Fiji and New Zealand), Ltd., earned £213,000, as I against £461,979 for the previous j'ear, and £297,783 for the 1919-20 term (says the Melbourne Argus of May 5). In the. mean time the 6 per cent, preference capital has been reduced by one-half, so that it now stands at £1,625,000, as compared with £3,250,000 in the 1920-21 accounts. Interim dividends disbursed in September last amounted to £113,750, and the board now recommends a final dividend at 6. per cent, on the preference scrip, absorbing £48,750. A balance of £50,500 remains, which, added to the balance of £189,719 brought forward, leaves £240,210 ’to the credit of profit and loss. The last three balance-sheets compare as follow:

, In his address to shareholders, the deputychairman (Mr H. E. Kater> said that the additional 5/- a share dividend, paid on the shares of the Colonial Sugar Refining Compuny from "the earnings of other investments,” was in substitution for the dividend declared last September on the ordinary shares of the Fiji company, which it was proposed to pass in view of the unsatisfactory position in Fiji.

FROZEN MEAT. The New Zealand Loan & ftArcantile Agency Co., Ltd., have received the' following cablegram from their London house under date, May 10: New Zealand Frozen, Meat.— Lamb, Hid per lb; wether and maiden ewe, light 7|d per lb, heavy 64d per lb; ewe, light 6Jd per lb, heavy s|d per lb. Beef— Unchanged (latest quotation May 3: ox hind?, 4d per lb, ox fores 2sd per lb; cow hinds, 3|d per lb, cow fores 2d per lb). BUTTER AND CHEESE. 4 Messrs Dalgety & Co., Ltd., report having received the following advice from their Head Office, London, under date of the 12th inst.:— / Butter.—Market weak and irregular. We quote New Zealand salted 172/-, Queensland 162/-, Danish 180/-; finest Australian selted 164/-, unsalted 164/-. Cheese.—Market slow; coloured, 84/-, white 74/-.

Mar. 31, Mar. 31, Mar. 31, 1920. 1921. 1922. £ £ £ Pref, shares 3,250,000 3,250,000 1,625,000 Ordinary shares 250,000 250,000 250,000 Renewal and depreciation fund 416,875 53.865 567,000 Div. reserve .. 375,000 450,000 500,000 General reserve — 100,000 Sundry creditors 4£,155 143,485 117,621 Suspense a/cs 343,602 1,296,738 1,237,000 Profit and loss 300,865 477,844 288,969 4,981,497 6,371,932 4,686,193 Refinery, land, £ £ £• etc 1,702,127 1,731,223 1,748,290 Tramways, &c. 719,974 722,585 728,526 Floating plant 129,155 127,635 127,655 Working 193,459 250,689 251,143 Stocks of sugar 76,081 572.450 132,872 Sundry debtors 2,126,842 2,713,063 1,592.92,3 Cash .. .. 34,859 252,267 162,784 Premifies .. 2,000 2,000 2,000