Company Notes
SHAREHOLDERS in Hallmark Securities will be well pleased with their chairman Mr. Stanley Bloch's full report for the year to April 30, 1962. Group profits increased from £721,000 to £873,000, but this increase was largely offset by higher interest charges, leaving net profits after tax at £313,000, against £288,000. The dividend has been stepped up by 7f per cent. to 671 per cent. plus a special payment of 71 per cent. to compensate shareholders for the increase they did not receive last year. It is now proposed to make a scrip issue of one for one and the direc- tors forecast a dividend of not less than 331 per cent. for the current year on the doubled capital. This is a most satisfactory performance, particularly in view of the new office and shop developments that are being undertaken and the good 'lets' that have already been made. The subsidiaries contributed to profits, and include Twentieth Century Banking (industrial bankers), E. E. Reed & Co. (builders) and Barking Brass- ware Co. (sanitary fittings, etc.). All in all, the outlook for this group, under their able general manager, Mr. Herbert Ashworth, is most promising. The Is. shares at 19s. 6d. x.d., yielding 3.5 per cent, on the forecast dividend, are worth putting away for further appreciation.
During the year ended April 30, 1962, The British Land Co. made a major acquisition by the purchase of the share capital of Clarendon Property Co., which necessitated an issue of 1,400,000 shares to the Prudential Assurance Co., who also provided mortgage finance. Other pro- perties were also acquired, including a chain of thirty-two retail shops in the provinces. New developments include fifty-six dwelling houses at St. Paul's Cray, Kent, which are now fully let; other properties are being built at Edenbridge and Palmer's Green. The recent purchase of Quadrant House, Pall Mall, will be revenue- producing this year. The balance sheet shows an increase of 12 per cent. in net rental investment income, which rose from £450,718 to £505,872. And this the chairman, Mr. Jack Bridgeland, expects to be increased in the current year. The total balance sheet value of properties is £7,396,672, of which £5,304,947 are freehold, against which there are mortgage3 (including £793,000 of 61 per cent. debenture stocks 1997) of £3,891,320. This is a healthy position and with the encouraging outlook for the future makes the 5s. shares at 9s. 3d. a good investment to yield 4.9 per cent. on the 9 per cent. dividend.
Spark Holdings, the industrial holding com- pany covering engineering, metallurgy, lighter flints, plywood and textiles, has produced excel- lent figures for the year ended April 30, 1962. Various acquisitions were made during the year (more have been made since the close of the accounts) which have been responsible for the increase in the group profit from £427,127 to £490,087. The net result has been to increase the earnings to 86.5 per cent. which covers the dividend nearly twice, as this goes up from 37 per cent. to 45 per cent, Shareholders will be interested to learn from their chairman, Mr. J. G. Lawson, at the annual general meeting, of the breakdown of the gross profit in relation to each subsidiary company and what they can expect in the future. It is now proposed to convert those shares that are subject to a dividend waiver into deferred shares carrying no dividend and make a one-for-ten scrip issue in ordinary and `A' ordinary, and convert the small amount of the latter into ordinary shares with full voting rights. Since 1955 Spark has come a long way and looks like progressing still farther. The 2s. shares at
14s. give a good yield of 7 per cent. with promis ing prospects.
In spite of plentiful seed supplies, low prices, intensive competition and very bad weather, Finneys Seeds Ltd. have succeeded in making a small increase to £75,735 in their trading profit for the year to June 30, 1962. Last year the harvest produced an abundance of herbage seeds, which forced prices down to a nine-year low level. This year may see certain varieties in short supply. The balance sheet has been improved by the acquisition of certain freehold properties, which in total are shown at £161,037, while the cash element is strong at £78,065. The chairman, Mr. Ernest Cornwall, expects another strenuous year and does not propose in future to declare an interim dividend as it is too early in the spring to anticipate the full year's results. One dividend will in future be declared in September. The 10 per cent. dividend has been maintained on the 5s. shares which at around par give a re- turn to be expected on this type of investment.
Delay in bringing their new factory at Steven- age into production, and a shortage of skilled labour, have contributed to lower profits for the year to June 30, 1962, of W. H. Sanders (Elec- tronics) Ltd. These fell from £93,536 to £73,045, but the dividend of 171 per cent. has been held on the increased capital. In his report, the chair- man, Mr. P. L. Wilde, stresses the importance of extending their exports. This, he says, is being done with vigour and in fact exports during the year increased by 50 per cent. The policy of the company is to maintain a balance between com- mercial sales and government contracts and to keep ahead with the design of new proprietory products. The chairman's confidence for the future probably justifies the low yield of 2.9 per cent. on the 2s. shares at 12s., particularly as the dividend is covered over two and a half times.
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