COMPANY NEWS

Southland Times, Issue 23945, 11 October 1939, Page 3

COMPANY NEWS

MOUNT MORGAN LTD. DECREASE IN PROFITS Mount Morgan, Ltd., reports a net profit of £92,652 for the year ended June 27, compared with £116,064 for the previous year. Total revenue amounted to £876,048, against £628,566, and expenditure was £508,639, compared with £512,502. The year’s profit, which included £88,821 from mining operations, ana £3831 from other sources, is arrived at after writing off depreciation £29,757, mine preparation £3159, and underwriting commission £2OOO. Expenditure of £123,706 incurred in removing and dumping 1,099,614 tons of overburden is also charged. The comparative figures for the previous period are £36,955 and 355,336 tons. Preference dividend of 8 ppr cent, required £11,534. The only ordinary dividend was 3d a share (10 per cent.), paid in July 1938, and absorbing' £29,349. Expenditure on new • plant totalled £140,665. As all costs of overburden removal have been charged against the mining of sulphide ore, a reserve of £lO,OOO for oyerburden removal is not now required for that purpose, and has been transferred to general reserve. Income of £3831 from sources other than mining has been transferred to a special account. The transfer from profits of £25,000 to capital redemption reserve is toward the redemption of preference capital. The report. states that the smelting plant, which came into operation in February, has effected a considerable savijig a ton of concentrates treated, as against shipping overseas in the year covered by the accounts. ■ Total material treated amounted to 2,036,510 wet tons, compared with 1,088,715 tons for the previous year. Of this total 504,885 tons were delivered to the sulphide mill, 432,011 tops to the oxide mill, and 1,099,614 tons were discarded as waste. Mining and treatment .cost a ton of sulphide ore was 17/2, against 17/0.07 in 1937-38, and of oxide ore 5/1.01, against 6/0.60. » Reserves of sulphide ore at June 28 last are estimated at 6,993,443 tons, assaying 4,22dwt, gold and 1.81 per cent, copper. Ore outside the reserves cannot be estimated as positive ore owing to insufficient data, but operations during the past two years permit an estimate above No. 5 bench of 2,200,000 tons of probable ore, assaying 2dwt gold and 0.5 per cent, copper. It is expected that during the current year overburden removed will approximate 1.5 tons compared with 2.69 tons of ore milled for the past year.

RECORD NET PROFIT DAVID JONES TURNOVER Net profit of David Jones, Ltd., at £197,563 for the year ended July 31, is an increase of £20,876, and constitutes a new high record for the company. Ordinary dividend at a steady rate of 10 per cent, requires £Bl,OOO on the fully-paid enlarged capital, and preference dividends amount to £27,750. The full dividend charge is thus £108,750. Transfer to reserve is £75,000, against £lOO,OOO last year, and the fund is now £600,000. In view of the increases in taxation, provision for income tax is supplemented by a further £15,000, bringing-the total amount reserved to £65,000. A contribution of £lO,OOO is made to the staff superannuation fund, which now stands at £50,672. These allocations leave £119,400 to be carried forward,, compared with £130,587 brought forward. Describing . trading conditions as satisfactory, the report states that the turnover reached the highest level in the company’s history. The company had the benefit of the first full year’s occupancy of the new store in Market street, and results justified the directors’ hopes. Through transferring some sections to the Market street store, the company made available 70,000 additional square feet of selling space in the Castlereagh street store. During the year the mortgage was reduced to £650,000 by the repayment of £lOO,OOO.

SOUTH BRITISH INSURANCE RECORD NET PREMIUM INCOME A new high level in the net premium income is shown in the accounts of the South British Insurance Company, Ltd., for the year ended August 31. The net revenue from fire, marine and accident premiums for the year was £1,417,625, an increase of £75,090 on the previous record figure of £1,342,535, established in 1938. Mainly as a result of the more favourable loss experienced, claims rising by only £539 to £844,416, the underwriting profit showed an increase of £25,956 to £128,120. The ratio of losses to premium income fell to 59.57 per cent, from 62.86 per cent, in 1938, and is at the. best point since 1936, when it was 54.03 per cent, of the premium income of £1,940,070. Increased business in the past year was secured at a rise of £68,595 jn expenses to £384,989. This increase brings the ratio of expenses to premium income up sharply from 23.57 per cent, in 1938 to 27.15 per cent, in the past year, and is the highest percentage since 1936. The income from interest and rents yielded £147,494, the small increase making the total revenue £1,565,119, as against £1,489,796 in 1938. These figures emphasized the marked progress of recent years particularly when it is remembered that in 1933 the total revenue was only £914,463. The directors have transferred £lOO,OOO to the Investment Fluctuation Fund and £50,000. to contingencies reserve. As already announced >they also recommend a final dividend of B£d a share, making 1/5 a share for the year, an unchanged rate. The year’s dividend requires £146,149, leaving £210,466 to be carried forward, as against £231,001

brought in. The balancing total is £110,154 higher at £4,191,58Q. ELECTROLYTIC ZINC Electrolytic Zinc Companv of Australasia, Ltd., reports a net profit of £405,756 for the year ended June 30. This is £53,768 less than for the previous year. Net profit was struck after providing £lOO,OOO for amortization and depreciation and £112,612 for taxation,. Distribution-of dividends at 15 per cent, absorbs £390,000, which is the same .< as, of the previous, year.. NESTLE (AUSTRALASIA) LTD Nestle and Anglo-Swiss Condensed Milk Company (Australasia), Ltd., reports a net profit of £200,734 for. the year ended t June : 24, compared with £199,177 in the previous,.year.■ The dividend.on the ordinary shares, which are all-held by Nestle ■ (Switzer--land) is maintained at .12. per cent., and requires • ■’£l2o,ooo. ; Tbe preference dividend .absorbs £BO,OOO, - and £9679 is carried- forward, against £8945 brought l into ithe--accqunt^/ :; _ A new item.:general reserve, £500,000 appears on the liabilities side, and in regard to this the directors explain that they deemed it advisable' to set up this reserve with • the amount stated out of the provision made in, former years for reserve for general depreciation. This course'was taken-because the directors are of opinion that in regard to the separate provision made for obsolescence the balance of general depreciation reserve, £538,000, will constitute an adequate provision for depreciation. DUNEDIN RABBITSKIN SALE (Special to The Times) DUNEDIN, October 10. The quantity of rabbitskins forward for today’s auction was much smaller than usual, approximately 24 tons being offered by combined brokers. Alldescriptions were again in keen > request, values being fully firm on late quotations. The official range of prices is as follows (per lb): — Summer broken, to 293d;autumn broken, 36d to 37-Jd; winter broken, 38|d to 40d; spotted winter bucks, 71£d to 80gd; spotted winter does, 41Jd to 44|d; second winter bucks, 80d to 89Jd; first winter bucks, 90d to 92Jd; second wii.ter does, 474 d to 48fd; first winter does, 50d to 54d; outgoing winter bucks, 64d to 69Jd; out-going winter does, 49Jd to 49Jd; furrier does, 41d to 423 d; spring bucks, 49jd to 57£d; spring does, 35Jd to 38{d; first milky, 34(d to 40jd; first winter fawns, 60d to 60|d. First hareskins, 35d to 37d; firs', winter black, 381 d to 42d. Horsehair, 20d to 25Jd. Ferrets, 6/6 to 7/11 (each).

NEW ISSUES OF CAPITAL CONTROL IN TIME OF WAR

Wartime loan needs and their effect on the new capital market are discussed in the weekly review of the Sydney Stock Exchange Research and Statistical Bureau, which recals that during the last great war it became necessary for the Commonwealth authorities to act. Increases of capital were permitted only when they were considered to be in the national interest.

“The need for similar measures of control,” the review contends, “is even more imperative now if maximum staying power, upon which the issue will ultimately depend, is to be developed, and there is a growing recognition that the control of investment in private enterprise will become an essential feature of Australian war

efforts. Action has already been taken in Great Britain along these lines. The Government is controlling the market for new capital, limiting issues to essential industrial requirements. “From all industrial point of view the Commonwealth is better equipped at present than it has ever been, but one of the outstanding problems will be that of raising Federal loans at a : ate of interest that will neither dislocate the organization of private finance nor throw too hea'"y a burden upon the whole community.”

„ _ MINING GILLESPIE’S BEACH (United Press Association) . DUNEDIN, October 10. Gillespie’s Beach reports a wash-up for the week ended October 7 of 250 z for 123 hours’ work. CUTLERY UNDER CONTROL Exports of cutlery and, other Sheffield manufactures to all destinations have been prohibited by the British Government, except , under licence, according to air mail advice received in New Zealand. Price lists have been advanced by 10 per cent,, and future quotations are those, ruling at time of .shipment. Deliveries are expected to bt. delayed. ■ /