Company Notes
THE printing dispute has prevented the Capital & Counties Property Com- pany from giving shareholders a fuller report on the occasion of the company's twenty-fifth anniversary. However, the company has produced excellent results for the year ended April 30, 1959, with a group profit, after tax, of E139,813, and two interim dividends have been declared totalling 15 per cent. On July 23 1959, an issue of 2,863,860 5s. ordin- ary shares was made by way of 'rights' in the proportion of one for every two ordinary shares. It is now pro- Posed to increase the directors' borrowing Powers which will permit of the issued ordinary capital being increased to £5,000,000. Various property acquisi- tions were made during the year, the most important of which was the free- hold area off the Strand from the Duke of Norfolk which it is intended to de- velop and which will considerably add to the company's revenue. The 5s. or- dinary shares at 17s. yield 4.4 per cent.
Sterling Industries are concerned with the supply of components to makers of internal combustion engines, aircraft and mechanical handling plant and equipment spread over the radio, musical and office machinery trades. Since a trading loss in 1954 the com- pany yearly increased its profits up to 1957, but the accounts for the year to March 31, 1959, show a big drop from £75,215 in 1958 10 £13,576. The chairman, Mr. R. A. Harding, had hoped to put forward a re- construction scheme, had profits shown some improvement, but obviously cannot do so at this stage. However, he does suggest that with their re-organisation of manage- ment under a new managing director, and an overall improvement in the order book, he can expect considerably better results for the current year. There is no dividend on the 5s. ordinary shares, which are quoted around Is.
A little more than a year ago Grampian Holdings of Glasgow 5s. ordinary shares Were obtainable at 6s. 44d.; they are now around 19s. 6d. and have been over 37s. Now there is an issue of one 7 per cent. £1 cumulative preference share, plus four ordinary 5s. shares at a price of 40s. in the Proportion of one unit for every four ordinary shares held. The present price of 17s. 6d. is ex rights and, on the directors' suggestion that a 10 per cent, dividend will be forthcoming for a six months' trading Period, the shares can be valued on a 20 per cent dividend basis. The rights issue will Produce £470,000 to pay off the bank overdraft. The company owns Lanarkshire bolt (Holdings) and Fleming Bros. (struc- tural engineers) and also has valuable free- hold land around Glasgow which is to be developed.
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