WELLMAN SMITH OWEN ENGINEERING CORPORATION
DIVIDEND AT RATE OF 10 PER CENT.
CURRENT POSITION SATISFACTORY
THE eighteenth ordinary general meeting of the Wellman Smith Owen Engineering Corporation, Ltd., was held on Tuesday, at Victoria Station House, London, S.W.
Sir Samuel Roberts, Bt., the chairman, who presided, said : The rePort of the directors and the audited balance-sheet and accounts for the period of nine months ended March 31st, 1937, have been circulated, and I presume that you will agree that they may be taken as read. I have to propose that the report and balance-sheet and accounts be received and adopted.
The balance-sheet is presented in our customary form, and I do not think I need do more than direct your attention to one or two items. You. will note that additions have been made to plant and machinery.: The increase in this figure represents part of the cost of installing new and heavy machine-tool equipment at the company's works, and I ani pleased to report that our re-equipment programme, to whiCh I made reference at the last annual general meeting, is now approaching completion. Very considerable benefit has already accrued in the form of improved output and more efficient working as a result of the new equipment installed.
The accounts presented cover a period of nine months' trading, and the net profit realised, after charging all expenses of working and management, and after making provision for income-tax, amounts to £20,947 is. 3d., to which must be added the balance brought forward at June 30th, 1936, of £4,835 4s. id., giving a total available of £25,782 5s. 4d., out of which the directors recommend the payment of a dividend of 7} per cent., less income-tax, which is equivalent to to per cent. for a full year, leaving £14,125 12s. 4d. to carry forward.
You will be pleased to hear that our turnover is increasing and that the volume of contracts in hand at present is over three times as great as at June, r936, and is larger than at any period since the incorporation of the company. It is particularly gratifying to record that an appreciable proportion of this increased output is for export. We have recently secured a contract for the supply of open hearth and other furnaces and auxiliary equipment for the new Karabuk Steelworks, which is being built by Messrs. H. A. Brassert and Co. for the Turkish Government, and we have also in hand tube-making machinery for shipment to Australia and South Africa.
Mr. James Foster-Smith, M.I.Mech.E. (managing director), seconded the resolution, which was carried unanimously, and the dividend recommended was declared.
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