B.A.T. EARNINGS.
At the recent meeting of the shareholders of the British American Tobacco Company, the Chairman, Sir Hugo Cun- liffe Owen, made some very interesting and illuminating state- ments with regard to the position. He made it very clear to the shareholders that the apparent decrease' in net profits was not caused by any shrinkage in actual profits of the company or of the subsidiary and allied companies. There had been a sale of a substantial portion of the company's holdings in certain concerns to Tobacco Securities Trust. Any share- holder, Sir Hugo pointed out, who had retained his shares in Tobacco Securities would have received dividends from both companies equivalent to a total dividend at the rate of 26.821 per cent., free of tax, on his holding as at October, 1928, or an increase of 1.821 per cent. over the previous year's business. With regard to the current year'sbusiness,Sir Hugo stated that the results for the first three months continued to be very satisfactory.
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