MONEY IN SUGAR

Timaru Herald, Volume CXL, Issue 20259, 7 November 1935, Page 9

MONEY IN SUGAR

COLONIAL COMPANY’S PROFITS United Press Association—By Electric Telegrapn—Copyright (Received November 6, 10.15 p.m.) SYDNEY, November 6. The report presented at the halfyearly meeting of the Colonial Sugar Refinery Company to-day showed that profits for that period from factories and other investments, amounted to £443,067, to which has to be added the balance of the profit and loss account on March 31, amounting to £409,247, making a total of £852,314. The Board proposes to pay a dividend of 12/6 and a special bonus dividend of 5/- per share, absorbing £511,875, leaving to the credit of the profit and loss account £340,439. In moving the adoption of the report, the chairman, Mr E. R. Knox, said that the crops in Australia were lighter this season, and the total output of raw sugar would not exceed 605,000 tons or 38,000 tons less than last year available for export. Normal weather conditions were now prevailing, so that the 1936 harvest should be assured. The Fiji crops also were lighter than last year but the outlook for 1936 was promising. The development of gold-mining in Fiji might disturb the local labour supply if not properly controlled, nor would it be to the good of the colony if the main industry of sugar were damaged. The position therefore was being closely watched. It had been rumoured that the Company intended to make a permanent feature of the special bonus dividend. This, added Mr Knox, was intended to facilitate the payment by individual shareholders of any extra taxation they might be called upon to bear by reason of the distribution of new shares and shareholders would be wrong in assuming anything to the contrary.

The report was adopted. It was announced that the New South Wales special income tax on bonus shares of persons domiciled in New South Wales is 29.633 per cent., or approximately 4/11 a share, and on persons not domiciled in New South Wales 6.578 per cent, or approximately 1/1 a share. The issue is not subject to Federal taxation.