SHARES & MINING

Observer, Volume XXXVI, Issue 48, 5 August 1916, Page 20

SHARES & MINING

[By Bullionist.]

THE report of the Perpetual Trustees Estate and Agency Company of New Zealand for the year ended April 30th last shows a net profit of £3361 17s lid, which, added to £3607 Bs, the amount brought forward from the previous year, gave an available balance of £6994 5s lid. The dividend for the year at the rate of per cent, absorbed £1171 17s 6d, and a bonus of 2i per cent. £234 7s 6d, the sum of £500 has been added to the reserve fund, and the. bonus to the staff absorbed £323 6s, leaving £4764 14s lid to be carried forward. This company is located in Dunedin, and is apparently doing a good business on safe lines. f, » » The report of the Wellington Investment, Trustee and. Agency Company for the year ended June 30th shows that, after haying made due provision for depreciation on. the company's buildings and furniture, the net'profit on the year's business, including £222 8s 3d brought forward from the previous year, amounts to £4896 0s 9d. The dividend for the year at 6 per cent, and bonus of 1 per cent, absorb £4334 3s, the sum of £500 has been added to the reserve fund, bringing it up to £16,186 14s, and leaving a balance of £61 17s 9d to be carried forward. The assets of the above company include mortgages, deposits at call, £5000; interest, .and rent accrued, £3114 10s 10d';'property not acquired by foreclosure, £40,----034 4s 7d; other freehold property, £402 10s 6d; office furniture and fittings, £170 14s 7d; Government and other debentures, £30,265 10s Id; bank balance, £1444 15s 9d; suspense account, £14 17s sd; total, £273,340 lis lid- The liabilities, apart from paid up capital, reserves, and profit and loss balance, are: . Investors' subscriptions, £318 15s 2d ; deposits and accrued interest, £192,----354 9s lOd; and sundry creditors, £87 14s Bd. ■•. • We have heard nothing further of the alleged absorption of the Union S.S. Company by the P. and. O. Company, and even the. merger with the New Zealand Shipping Company is not yet settled. It is stated that about 80 per cent, of the shareholders in, New Zealand in the New Zealand Shipping Company have agreed to the amalgamation, and the shareholders of the P. and O. Company have yet to consent to the transaction. * After this, there comes the permission of the Treasury for the issue of debentures or deferred shares for the purchase. Until the P. and 0. Company has this matter settled it is not likely to give any attention to the Union Company, even supposing that an. amalgamation is under consideration. m ft • Union Steam Ship shares have changed hands in Dunedin at 44s 9d, and no doubt more could, be obtained by buyers at the price. There has been no further' information from London regarding this transaction, and, altogether, one must view the matter with some suspicion. There promises to be. a good many changes in the shipping business in the near future. There is going to be severe competition, for other nations are entering into the' Pacific trade.. The Florence Luckenbach, the pioneer vessel of an American line, has already reached Wellington. The Nippon Yusen Kaisha Line has announced its intention of opening up.direct service with New Zealand, and we have, further, the vessels belonging

to the Commonwealth Government. Australasia will presently be well served with shipping. • a « The war credit obtained by the Imperial Government last week was £450,000,000, not £300,000,000, as originally anticipated, and this amount will suffice to carry on until the end of October. The total war expenditure, with this latest credit, is very large indeed, and yet the Empire seems capable of standing the strain:. The financial resources of the Empire are being readily placed at the disposal of the Government, and with the superiority that the Allies now hold in men and munitions, the Central Powers must be battered into submission. « » « The Commonwealth Government's third war loan has just, been floated. Applications closed yesterday, August Ist, and we know that, it must be a success. The Commonwealth Bank has subscribed £2,000,000, and the A.M.P. Society £1,000,000, and the other large joint stock corporations and the wealthy runholders will find further large amounts. The Government will, of course, take all that it can get. In respect to this loan special efforts were made to attract the savings of the working ' classes, and it is to be. hoped the same efforts will, be made, when the New Zealand war loan is issued. The general public, and particularly the small investors, need another safe outlet for their savings, besides the P.O. Savings Bank. • * * The amount of attention that is now being given/ to post war trade seems to indicate that the termination of the war is not far off. There have been predictions that it. would end this year, but the Germans do not appear to be exhausted. The Allies have seemed the ascendancy in every respect, but the work of pushing the Hun back is slow. A great deal has already been accom..plished io satisfy neutrals that the Allies must win, and therefore Rumania may come in to clean up affairs in the .Balkans. If the Dardanelles could %c opened there would be a great addition to shipping, and Russia and Rumania would be able to send out vast quantities of wheat and other cereals. • • « The British Government is evidently making very great preparations for post war trade, and the Black List appears to have annoyed the United States, very much. The Yankees have done exceedingly well in supplying the Allies with munitions, but even munitions are scarcely wanted now, as the British are well able to supply themselves. The United States, with its high protective tariff, has no right to complain at being treated to a dose of its own physic. * • The Germans are also taking steps to meet the post war trade competition. At the outbreak of hostilities, when they were cocksure of beingable to "iick all creation" in less than six months, they commenced buying wool in Argentine, and even had it placed, on board of interned German steamers, ready for transfer to the Fatherland. Some of this wool could not be. held and' was resold. About May last there was a great meeting of the Berlin Chamber of Commerce, and it was decided that it was imperative in the. interests of German industries to secure large supplies of raw material, to be available immediately after the close of the war. • • • Germans have bought on credit in the United States large quantities of rubber and cotton, which is a very good indication of what the Huns expect. If the war ends this year the position of the buyers of this rubber and cotton will be all right, but if hostilities are prolonged thentrouble is bound to arise. • • " The conditions of the London market are satisfactory. The Bank of England lost about half a million in gold during the week, but apparent-

ly it has not been necessary to raise the discount rate beyond 6 per cent. The Japanese Government, appears to have come up to the aid of the British at an opportune moment. The Japs held about ten millions' worth of American gold coin, and used this amount in purchasing British Exchequer bonds held by Americans, which enabled l the latter to transfer the specie, to their own country. Had this not happened, the Americans would, have deposited the bonds with bankers against an advance, and so obtained gold from the Bank of England. The Japs have really helped to steady the money market.

The Railway Statement presented to Parliament last week was very satisfactory as such statements go. The total e.arnings for the past fiscal year were £4,548,356, against £4,105,457, while the expenditure was £2,910,883, against £2,920,455, the net profit on working being £1,637,473, against £1,185,002. It will be noted that while there is a very substantial increase in the earnings there is a decrease in the expenditure, and this is no doubt due to the fact that we have now an expert in charge of the service. The greater part of ■ the increase was secured in the North Island, where the gross receipts per train mile were 112.25 d against 96.75 d, and in. the. South Island 117.25 d against. 110.50 d. * The net revenue is equal to 4i72:per cent, on the capital invested on the lines open for traffic.