Company Notes
By LOTHBURY ID Ell ER than expected results come from 13 Barclays Bank DCO for the year ended Sep- tember 30, 1963. Net taxed profits (after transfers to internal reserves) are excellent at £2.64 million against £2.02 million, which confirms the chair- man's optimistic report last year. In fact, at the time of the one-for-eight scrip issue in February, he forecast the maintenance of the 10 per cent dividend on the larger capital. This has been in- creased to 11 per cent. The reserve fund now stands at £19 millions. The geographical and political risks appear to be over-emphasised by investors who can still obtain the very good return of 5.6 per cent on the £1 shares at 39s. 3d. . Satisfactory results have been achieved for the year ended June 30, 1964, by J. and F. Stone, the retail chain of radio, TV and electrical appliance shops. Pre-tax profits have risen from £914,885 to £922,186 but, as the chairman explained, rising overheads and the poor start to BBC-2 have not made it possible for the increase in sales to be reflected in profits. Rental and h.p. sales have gone up in the past' year and to date are being maintained. During the past year the company maintained. The balance sheet is strong. With the maintained dividend of 30 per cent the 5s. shares at 17s. 6d. yield 8.5 per cent and rather suggest that there is no immediate growth.
Cozens and Sutcliffe (Holdings), the construc- tional engineers, have maintained the 25 per cent dividend on the capital increased by a one-for- ten bonus issue last year, but a caution comes from the chairman against the possibility of main- taining that rate of payment in the current year. Trading profits for the year ended June 30, 1964, were £329,829—a little down on the previous year. An interim statement can be expected next May; meanwhile, the 4s. shkres at I Is. 3d. look vulnerable, as the yield of nearly 11 per cent suggests.
After two years of diminishing profits J. Brock- house, the engineering company in West Brom- wich, has come back into the picture for the year ended September 30, 1964, with higher pre-tax profits of £1,378,818 against £973,843. The divi- dend goes up from 12+ per cent to 14 per cent. At the beginning of the year the capital was in- creased by a one-for-five rights issue, and it is on the larger capital that the increased dividend is declared. The chairman reports that in all depart- ments, both at home and overseas, the company is working to capacity. This is an encouraging statement for the future and makes the £1 shares a reasonable purchase at 44s. yielding 6.3 per cent.
Correction. In the report on DAWS last week the profit figures given were for a half-year, not a full year. This section of our comment should have read: 'Group net profits for the half-year after all charges and tax were £50,625 compared with only £18,867 for the previous comparable period.'
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