COMPANY MEETING

W. J. SIMMS, SONS AND COOKE, D.

ANOTHER YEAR OF SUCCESSFUL TRADING

BOARD'S PROGRESSIVE POLICY LARGE VOLUME OF CONTRACTS AND ORDERS IN HAND

MR. H. W. W. SIMMS ON DECADE OF PROGRESS THE annual general meeting of W. I. Simms, Sons and Cooke, Ltd. was held on July 27 at the Registered Office. Haydn Road, Sherwood, Nottingham, Mr. H. W. W. Simms (the Chairman) presiding.

The following is his circulated statement:

Ladies and Gentlemen,—It is teo years since made my first statement to you as your Chairman and therefore I feel it is appropriate that, whilst presenting the Directors' Report and Statement of Accounts for the year ended 3ist December, 1961, 1 should report, not only on the year under review, but also consider in retrospect the period since the end of 1951 when the Company as now constituted was born.

Since our last Annual General Meeting your Com- pany has suffered the loss of two Directors, Mr. G. Leslie Sermon and Mr. Herbert Smith. both of whom were appointed to the Board in 1955 after many years of valuable service to the Company. They were both men of great ability and the highest integrity, they made very valuable contributions to the work of your Board and are deeply mourned by their col- leagues throughout the Company, and on behalf of cas all I gratefully pay tribute to their memory.

IN RETROSPECT In my first Report 1 stated "Your Directors are resolved on a prudent and conservative financial policy which will continue to build up the Com- pany's strength and maintain the improvement in the general financial position and state of liquidity." This policy has been steadfastly pursued enabling the Board to double the fully paid Share Capital by a series of scrip issues and more than double the total of the Capital and Reserves of the Company, whilst progressively increasing the net distribution of profits to Shareholders as follows: 1951, £10,500; 1952, £11,000; 1953, £12,375; • 1954. £14,375; 1955, £14,375; 1956, £17,250; 1957, £18,975; 1958, £24,500; 1959, £24.500; 1960, £27,562; 1961, £30,625.

During this period the premises at Haydn Road

have been extended and Lento's Works has been considerably enlarged to provide capacity for the Prefabricated Buildings Department, which is ex- panding continually. Larger Branch premises have been opened in Croydon, Manchester, Birmingham and Leeds, thus enabling the business to be expanded on a sound basis providing adequate local administra- tion and supervision for contracting works over a very wide area. Bosworth & Co. (Contractors),

Limited was acquired, complete with offices and works premises, mainly to develop Private Enterprise Housing in the Midlands.

The Canadian Subsidiaries and the Associated Company have been established in anticipation of future development in the Dominion. For sales pro- motion British Simms Buildings Limited was formed and is now operating on a wide basis and through it we have secured large contracts for Prefabricated Buildings and Joinery in many parts of the world.

With the object of strengthening the administration your Board has from time to time appointed Assis- tant Directors to whom a large proportion of the management is delegated, both. at Head Office and in the Branches; this has proved a great success and therefore three more have recently been added to their number by the appointment of Mr. Horace A. Brader, Joinery Department Manager, Mr. John B. Sermon, Branch Manager, Manchester and Mr. Richard H. H. Simms, Assistant Sales Manager. I congratulate them on their appointments and wish them every success in their new duties.

COMPANY'S VERSATILITY 1 am happy to report that 1961 was yet another year of successful trading and further consolidation, in which was secured a large volume of contracts and orders which will ensure full productivity in the cur- rent year.

The contracts carried out during the period again reflect the versatility of the Company and the diver- sity of its activities—they include Primary, Secondary and Technical Schools of both traditional and pre- fabricated construction, University Science Buildings, Hospital Blocks. Clinics, Welfare Centres, Pit Shaft Fan Drifts, Road and Earth Works and Factory, Warehouse and Office accommodation for the fol- lowing trades and industries—Frozen Food, Bakery and Confectionery, Grocery and Provisions Mer- chants, Motor Engineering, Dyeing and Finishing, Clothing and Hosiery, Chemical, Printing, Butchery, Electrical, Light and Heavy Engineering, Petroleum and Mining.

CURRENT CONTRACTS

Among the current contracts are those for the extension and completion of London County Hall, rebuilding the Prudential Assurance Co. Limited's Buildings at Leeds, a shopping centre and office block for the Pearl Assurance Company Limited, and the Civic Theatre at Nottingham, multi-storey flats for in the country and one of the most progressive. Assets are now LSO million and reserves £4 , Mr. F. S. Gentle, chairman of the Grey- hound Racing Association Trust Ltd., in his annual report, once again points out the unfair- ness of the 10 per cent. pools betting duty borne by the greyhound totalisator. Through the per- s'stent efforts of MPs and the press, he hopes for hsnille correction of this injustice by the next uudget. Mr. Gentle makes mention of the many anontalies under the new betting laws, all of Ttlich operate against greyhound-racing tracks. he group pre-tax profits fell from £370,541 ato and the net profit from £173,741 to f.7,,S23, consequently necessitating a small cut Per cent. in the dividend to 20 per cent. „.le future prosperity of the company, which 'fir attracts a large number of the sporting Public, is greatly dependent upon a favourable aha„nge in the tax and belting laws. The Is. shares ". d. are therefore yielding nearly 9 per cent. er. Raymond Berry, chairman of Berry's fie' Magicoal Co., gave shareholders and ilue' market a very pleasant surprise recently ti?..ahnouncing substantially increased profits, a 33 Bend of 45 per cent. (35 per cent. final) against 101,,Per cent., earnings up from 98.6 per cent. Th."2, per cent. and a one-for-two share bonus. 5,, Is promp tly had the effect of putting the 7'i shares up from 72s. to 79s. They are now x.d. As manufacturers of the well-known A agicoal' electric fires, water-heaters, lighting "bxtures.and food-mixers, no doubt the company benefited from the long, cold winter. With pre- Profits 32 per cent. up at f705,000, some- 3rg more than the scaled-down equivalent of at today's ce nt. might be expected, as the shares price yield just over 3.1 per cent.