Company Notes .
By CUSTOS THERE was a tendency to take profits before the Easter holidays—some nervous people always expect another ivar to start while the Stock Exchange is closed.— but the bull market remains, underwritten by Mr. Butler, and the general expectation is that the up Ward movement will shortly be resumed. This does not mean that the investor can buy anything for a rise. As we have said on this page before, caution and selectivity must be the rule. This particularly applies to engineering shares, for last year saw a decline in exports and in the order books of most of the manufacturers of machinery and plant. VICKERS is the super- engineer, covering aircraft and shipbuilding as well as engineering goods, and it did well to maintain its profits last year and repeat its dividend of 15 per cent. out of earnings of 47 per cent. But if it had not been for the declaration of a one-for-one bonus issue the shares would undoubtedly have fallen more than they did—to 58s. 3d. Does the bonus mean, as the trade unionists would allege, that Vickers will pay out more in cash next year? The City is certainly not betting on it. The Company may not have to bear more losses in respect of the sale of Government compensation stock and it will benefit in due course from the new invest- ment allowances, but will there be more cuts in rearmament? A yield of only 5.2 per cent. at 58s. 3d. is not discounting that political risk.
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