SUCCESS OF MOA COMPANY

Taranaki Daily News, 2 August 1932, Page 3

SUCCESS OF MOA COMPANY

■ INCREASED OUTPUT RECORDED. HEADED LIST AT MOTUROA. A successful season was reported to the 37th annual meeting of the Moa Farmers’ Co-operative Dairy Company, Inglewood, yesterday. The payment for the season was lljd. The company headed the list for all factories grading at Moturoa with an average grade of 94.47, 98-6 per cent, being finest. 1 The output increased by 97 tons, while the cost of production was reduced. Mr. R. B. Sutton, chairman of directors, presided over an attendance of about 100 suppliers. The annual report showed that the average cash return to suppliers would be 11.34 d per pound butter-fat. That was based on the following valuation of stocks: Consignment butter in store, valued at 9£d, 3055 boxes; sold butter in store, valued at Hid, 3367 boxes; sold butter in store, valued at lljd, 390 boxes. (Siuce the completion of the balance-sheet prices had advanced on the London market and should that increase continue the final returns should reach 11.50 d). There was an increase of 96 tons of butter manufactured for the season, the total being 1177 tons. The increase of tonnage, together with the careful supervision of accounts and expenditure, had resulted in a further decrease in the cost of. manufacture. All charges from factory to f.o.b. amounted to 1.454 d per lb. butter-fat, cream cartage to .356 d per lb. butter-fat, a total of I.Blod. A payment of £3512 4s lOd was made on July 20 covering the supply from November to March, and it was hoped to be able to finalise the season’s accounts on August 20. Statistics were: Cream supplied, 5,890,7771 b.; butter-fat, 2,162,0951 b.; butter, 2,637,0191 b.; average test, 36.70; overrun, 1.2196.

POLICY OF CONSIGNMENT. In moving the adoption of the report and balance-sheet, the chairman said chat at this time last year they had been looking forward optimistically to better times, but unfortunately their hopes had not been realised. The year therefore had been a difficult one. Anticipating better times, the directors had adhered to a consignment policy. There were not many offers but the few there were the directors did not consider it advisable to accept. If they had accepted those offers they would probably have done better as the consignments did not realise as much. At the time, however, there was always something occurring that made it appear as it the future would be brighter. The directors had made several sales which had ben very satisfactory as compared with consignments. There were jn stock on May 31, 6812 boxes of butter, representing part of the March and April and all the May make. Since that date all the butter had been shipped, 1371 boxes being on consignment on two boats, while the balance had been sold at HJd for finest. Realisations to date warranted a further payment on August 20 of a halfpenny per pound butter-fat for September, October, April and May, and lid for November, December, January, February and March. That would bring the. payment over those months up to UJd. That further payment represented £9926 and, with £3512 paid on July 20, meant that £13,438 had been distributed since the balance-sheet had been compiled. The company’s produce, continued Mr. Sutton, had been well spread in England, a certain quantity, having gone to the west coast. Of the total shipped 3458 boxes had gone to Avonmouth, 900 boxes to Manchester, 3247 boxes t-o Liverpool and 3770 boxes to Glasgow, the balance going to i London. In keeping with the policy.that he had . advocated for several years, where possible working costs had been reduced, while at the same time efficiency had been kept in view. A new combined internal worker had been installed to replace a churn that had given service for twelve years. The factory had been kept up-to-date in every detail. The oil burner installed three or four years ao-o had been replaced by an iron fireman, and though it had only been installed since February, there had been a savinc of £25 in fuel despite the fact that the output during the season had increased by 97 tons. There had been, Mr. Sutton said, an increase of 182,493 lb. of butter-fat., Of that increase 121,6101 b. was due to new suppliers, there being an increase of 60,8831 b. shown by suppliers of the previous year. As giving some idea of the vagaries of the season, Mr. Sutton pointi ed°out that during August the com-, • pany was making an average of 11 boxes a day more .than in last August. That dropped in September to six boxes a day below the previous year s ficures owing to tjie bad spring. In October' the returns were about equal, whereas by November there were 20 boxes per day more than in the previous year. It was gratifying. to note that despite the increase in output of 97 tons, the factory had secured an average arade of 94.47. That result was available only at noon that day, as the year closed on July 31. Considering that the Moa Company sent its whole year’s butter to the grading stores, including all the late autumn and early spring make, the splendid result spoke volumes for the raw material supplied to the factory by suppliers as well as for the staff that handled it. He had always held that the average test and overrun had a bearino- on each other insomuch that as the test rose so did the overrun, and that seemed to be borne out by their results.' This year with an average test of 36.7 the overrun was 21.96 per cent., whereas the previous year with an average test of 37.83, the., overrun was 22.33 per cent. The costa of production, Mr. Sutton continued, had shown a decrease, being

I.Bld per pound butter-fat to f.o.b. a* against 1.96 d the previous; yea-r. . 1926 when the output was 669 tons th* cost of manufacture was £l9 per ton. In 1931 with an output of 1081 _ ton* the cost of manufacture was £l5 perton, whereas this year with an output of 1177 tons it had dropped to £l3 17*. Mr. J. Buckley said the repairs and renewals, £991, seemed very high, especi-. ally as that item had been high the previous year. The secretary said that on a tonpaga basis it was not very high. He pointed out that the company had the second largest butter output in Taranaki. The account included the costs of installation of the new churn. _ The chairman said that the directors had considered the question .of employing an engineer to cope with repairs, but if so it would be necessary to purchase plant. _ Mr. A. Morton asked whether it would be possible to reduce the costs of cream eartage. S, . 1 The chairman said the present contract had three years to run. He did not know whether the contractor would be prepared to reduce the price. Of course if there were not so much overlapping it would be possible to reduce the cost. i 1 Mr. Morton pointed out that a neighbourin a- company had collected its cream at a cost of .08d per pound butter-fat less than Moa did. If the Moa Company could reduce its costs of collection by that amount, it would then hav* been able to pay to its suppliers mor* than that company had. Replying to Mr. D. Todd, the chairman stated that there were now 339 suppliers as compared with 307 last* year. Probably fewer than half the supplier* were shareholders.,' During last year £543 had been deducted from low grade and. under-test cream, Mr. Sutton said. That wa® equivalent to .05d per pound of butterfat. There were five candidates for the four vacancies on the directorate, the election resulting: R. B. Sutton 497; V. Dravitzki 429, C. W. Baldwin 389, A. J. Reeve 345 (retiring directors reelected), J. W. Buckley 243. Mr. T. C. H. Nicholls was re-elected auditor at the same fee (£2l).