28 FEBRUARY 1941, Page 22

COMPANY MEETING

THE ENGLISH ELECTRIC CO., LTD.

MR. G. H. NELSON'S ADDRESS

THE twenty-second ordinary general meeting of the English Electric Co., Ltd., was held on Thursday, February zoth, at the Connaught Rooms, Great Queen Street, London, W.C.

Mr. G. H. Nelson, M.I.E.E. (chairman and managing director), presided. The chairman said: Ladies and Gentlemen, since our last annual general meeting Sir Edward Crowe has been invited and has accepted a seat on the board of this company. Sir Edward's wide knowledge of trade, particularly in the overseas markets, will, I am sure, be of very material assistance to the company. The report and accounts for the past year have been circulated, and with your permission I will take them as read. (Agreed.)

BALANCE-SHEET CHANGES

You will find little change, except in figures, in the balance-sheet. The share capital is unaltered. Our debenture debt has again been reduced by the application of the sinking fund. Creditors are up, as they are bound to be—to mention only one item—when taxation and the reserves to meet it stand at their present level. We again show a substantial bank overdraft, but in considering the item of creditors and bank overdraft you will not overlook the fact that our net liquid assets (i.e., the surplus of cash, debtors and stock and work in progress over creditors and bank loan) are again higher than a year ago. The actual figures are £2,918,983 against £2,806,718, an increase of £112,265. The loan secured by an export credits guarantee has disappeared from our accounts, the guarantee having been called upon and met during the year.

PROFITS AND DIVIDENDS Turning now to the profit and loss account, you will, I hope, feel that with taxation in the form and at the level of today, we have done well again to earn over t5 per cent. on our ordinary share capital. We are proposing to you that this should again be divided, as approximately the same profit was divided a year ago, between a dividend of to per cent. and an allocation of £100,000 to our general reserve, which will then stand at £600,000.

EXCESS PROFITS TAX Before I leave the subject of profits I would only add a brief reference to Excess Profits Tax. As I told you last year, we are particularly vulnerable to the Excess Profits Tax entirely as a result of what we like to think was our own foresight in undertaking long- term technical and commercial development in the years before the tax could have been anticipated.

The report and accounts were unanimously adopted.