COMPANY NOTES
MR. SAMUEL GOLDSTEIN, chairman of Ellis and Goldstein, clothing manufacturers, has an excellent report for shareholders for the year ended November 30, 1959; net profit after tax amounted to £349,037 against £249,634, which included eleven months' trading profits from Bent and Sons Ltd., acquired last year. The company is well known for its garments under the trade names of Derdta,"Eastex,"Rembrande and `Elgora.' The sale of unwanted properties has produced a surplus of £55,500. A seven-for- twenty free scrip issue has been made and the dividend has been stepped up from 27+ per cent. to 35 per cent, from earnings of 87.75 per cent. The chairman states that the turnover for the first six months of the current year is up and that he is confident that profits will be maintained. The Is. ordinary shares at 6s. 71d. yield 5.3 per cent.
Forestal Land Timber and Railway Co. is still greatly dependent on the leather industry for its profits; shipments of quebracho (used in tanning) to the Far Eastern, countries fell last year, at d substitutes for this tanning extra& in the Western countries are still hitting the company hard. The chairman, Sir Gerard d'Erlanger, is determined to diversify the company's interests and has already developed interests in Africa, trading in sugar, tobacco and cotton, as well as in° terests in the UK and Germany in feeding stu Is and chemicals. These plans will cost about £2 million but should eventually pay off and reward the patient shareholder who is willing to buy t le £1 ordinary shares at 16s. 6d. to yield over 10 per cent. on the maintained dividend of 9 per cent. from earnings of 18 per cent.
The chairman of Byard Manufacturing (lace• makers of Nottingham), Mrs. E. Phillip s• warned shareholders last year to expect lower profits for the year to October 31, 1959. These are now revealed at £10,544 against £22,549, but the balance sheet remains in a very healthy state, revenue reserves and surplu amounting to £92,550 against the issued capital, of £150,000. The chairman, in maintaining thq dividend at 10 per cent., states that for the first half of the current year the recovery which showed up at the end of 1959 continues. The 2s. ordinary shares at around 2s. may be speculative but are worth attention.
Mr. Jack Adinsell, chairman of Ku: Selangor Rubber Co., reports that for 1959 the company has doubled its profits, due to an in- crease of 23 per cent. in the crop harvested a id the fact that the net proceeds for rubber were 5 per lb. higher than for the previous year. Thus profit (before tax) of £33,302 has resulted, against' £14,821, and with the maintenance of the present' price of the commodity the company is contir ing to make good profits. This will enable it to implement its programme of replanting. This company is one of the Harrisons and Croslit Id group and under excellent management should continue to prosper. The 2s. ordinary shares at 4s. 3d. give a yield of nearly 8 per cent. on the 171 per cent. dividend.
W. J. Simms Sons and Cooke, building con- tractors, of Nottinghain, report lower profits for 1959 at £210,203 with a group net profit (after tax) of £50,855. The chairman, Mr. H. W. W. Simms, advises that this was due to a reduced volume of work carried out, but he is satisfied that the wide activities of the company, which include the building of flats, warehouses, factories and the development of private building as well as government contracts, will keep the co -1- pany's factories in full production for many months. The dividend of 8 per cent. is being maintained on the capital as increased by a bonus issue of shares last year. This costs £24,500 while £41,747 remains as an undistributed surplus. 1 he £1 ordinary shares are quoted in Nottingham at 35s. to 40s.
The report and accounts for 1959 of Bovril Ltd. disclosed that more people than ever before drank Bovril and Jaffajuice and that a full year's trading from the subsidiaries Virol, Marmite and Ambrosia contributed good profits. Here is a company that by vigorous managements Lord Luke as chairman has rewarded share-; holders with a 4 per cent. increase in the dividend to 24 per cent. from earnings of 84.6 per cent. from pre-tax profits of £1,688,503 against £1,190,735. To finance expansion it is proposed
to make a one-for-three rights issue and to make a 100 per cent. free scrip issue. The directors anticipate maintaining last year's payment on the increased capital so that a 12 per cent. dividend for 1960-61 will give the £1 ordinary shares at 102s. 6d. a satisfactory yield of 4.7 per cent.
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