SHARES & MINING

Observer, Volume XXXVI, Issue 38, 27 May 1916, Page 20

SHARES & MINING

[By Bullionist.]

THE balance sheet of Wilsons Portland Cement Company, Limited, for the year ended March 31st, 1916, shows that the company has had a prosperous year. The net profit for the period under review was £15,404 5s 2d, and there was brought forward from the previous veal- £4174 12s sd, making available 5 £19,578 17s 7d, and this has been allocated as follows:—Dividend at the rate of 10 per cent, per annum £10,000, donation to Patriotic funds £1000, directors' honorarium £600, total £11,600, leaving to be carried forward £7978 17s 7d. The assets of the company consist of freehold property, buildings, plant, machinery, etc., £68,697 8s 10d; stock, • £20,401 19s 10d ; office furniture, £50 12s 9d; bills receivable, £1118 18s 5d ; mortgages and secured accounts, £10,493 X 18s 4d ; sundry debtors, £17,062 7s sd; deposits and accrued interest, £8692 % 7d; cash, £2424 10s. The liabilities comprise paid up capital, £100,000; sundry creditors, £9363 0s 7d; insurance fund for. vessels, £6000.

The report of the Bank of! Australasia for the half year ended October 11, 1915, to hand by a recent mail, shows a net profit of £201,743, which with £113,353 brought forward made £315,096 available. The dividend and bonus are maintained at the rate of 17 per cent, per annum, and absorb £170,----0 the sum of £30,000 is placed to reserve, and the balance, £115,096, is carried forward. The deposits total £20,578,326, and the total liabilities were £24,083,118. The liquid assets amounted to £10,126,930, reserve fund £2,780,000, advances £18,993,744, and bank premises £27,540. '

Mr Asquith is to ask\ the Imperial Parliament for another vote of credit and t!he amount, though not stated in the cable messages, will probably be about £450,000,000, which will cover the war expenditure for 90 days. The British revenue is now > £510,000,000, equal to more than a million and aquarter a day, and some part of this amount will be available for the war. It is a question whether the British Government will not be obliged to iss\ie another loan. So far the Government has been relying on exchequer bonds and Treasury Bills, but these short-dated securities cannot be piled up- without running some risks. . London financiers were expecting a loan to be issued shortly-

The Government would have no difficulty in getting all the money it requires. A loan for £600,000,001) or more likely an unlimited amount would meet with a good reception, and the United States in particular would render assistance. The demand for another credit directs attention to the enormous cost of the war. The London "Economist," in handling this matter, showed that, according to the British Budget, by March 31st next the National Debt will be about £2,640,000,000, and this does not include the amount advanced to the Allies which by that date will amount to about £800,000,000. * i *

Fortunately British finance is on a very sound basis. Finance is not a party matter in the Imperial Parliament as it is here, hence both sides endeavour to , keep - finance strong and healthy. The British Government lias made provision for interest and sinking fund for every pound borrowed, and the heavy

taxation imposed on the community is being paid without any murmurs. It was part of the German plan to strike hard at the outset to bring the war to an end in say six months and claim a big indemnity to cover her war, expenditure. This, of course, implied victory, and the Germans were so obsessed with the idea of"• victory that long after other nations saw the inevitable defeat of the Huns the German officials were still nursing the idea of obtaining an indemnity.

Dr. Helfferich, the Imperial Treasurer, referred again and again to tin's indemnity, and therefore refused to increase taxation. Now it has become apparent that there is no hope of victory and no hope of an indemnity j and now they are talking of increasing taxation. It will be a very difficult matter now, and already the States are at variance with the Imperial authorities. It is estimated that Germany's debt at the end of March next will be in the neighbourhood of £3,200,t)00,----000. In addition to this, there will be the indemnity to Belgium, which may be safely placed at £500,000,----000.

Austria, too, is in a parlous financial condition, and this is evident from the fact that she has been endeavouring to raise a paltry £3,000,000 in the United States, and has failed to do so. The Central Powers are in a very bad way financially, and the position will be a great deal worse after the war. In Germany and Austria the people will be poverty stricken, wages will be low and the working hours long. The thins will endeavour to produce on a .big scale, and their goods will be sold at cheap rates. There will not be much of a-market for anything in either Germany or Austria for a long time to come.

' T in Russia, France, Italy," "fielgium and England are not likely to be very much better than in the other belligerent countries. Russia, France and Belgium will have a great deal of damage to repair, and much loss to make good, but the same is not, the case with Britain and Italy. Britain can resume manufacturing for export as soon as the war is over, or even earlier, but the trouble will be in finding labour, readjusting machinery, and securing the raw materials. These may be classed as temporary difficulties, and they may be said to be more than set off by the increased knowledge of manufacturers in organisation and factory management.

Britain will suffer relatively less than any other of the -belligerents, but that does not say much. Tho markets of the world have been put into the melting pot, and the British will have to begin all over again. There is an idea that the Germans are storing up goods with which to flood the markets as soon as the war ends. This statement must be the outcome of a very vivid imagination. If the Germans had the goods they could sell to Holland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland, but in these countries the rate of exchange is very much, against Germany, and the German Government has tried various expedients to level up the exchange without success. After the war the belligerents will be anxious to sell to realise assets to meet their immediate requirements, and they wfll not ;be anxious to buy. At all events, there will be no high prices for anything they buy.

Our own Budget is just about due, and from the fact that the Finance Minister has not allowed any details to be made public we may be sure that it is very good. In well informed quarters it is expected that the surplus will be a round million. If this proves to be correct, then we may safely '.say will be no increase in taxation. The disposal of the surplus is another question that should receive the closo attention of Parliament. That surplus should be applied to the war,

and if two or throe in ill ions were borrowed in the local market, we would be giving some substantial relief to the Home Government. • * * Many people object to a local loan, some because of the fact that several of our short-dated loans will be falling due presently, and we may be forced to 'borrow ,to meet these, while others object to a local loan on purely (personal grounds, for such an operation would -somehow hurt them. However, we can trust the Finance Minister to make ,ii;ood use of the surplus, and we may leave it at that.