THOMAS TILLING PROSPECTS
In the circumstances, the recently-appointed Committee representing Transport " C " stockholders is surely acting wisely in holding its hand until the effects of the higher fares have become apparent. So far as Thomas Tilling, Limited, is concerned, whose chairman has taken the lead in organising the " C " stockholders, the problem of the Transport " C ". dividend is really a matter of principle rather than £ s d Last. year's reduction from 44 to 4 per cent., for example, meant only a loss of some £4,000, despite the company's big holding, which is trifling in relation to a total revenue of over £450,000. Indeed, it is already evident, from the accounts of the Tilling and British Auto- mobile Traction and of the National Omnibus and Trans- port Company, in both of which Thomas Tilling has a very large interest, that the reduction in income from Transport " C " has been made good many times over.
Tilling and B.A.T. has rais:1 its dividend from 10 per cent. less tax to 9 per cent. free of tax (equivalent to over (Continued on page ro8) FINANCE AND INVESTMENT (Continued from page 106) 12 per cent. on a less-tax basis), and National Omnibus is maintaining its 8 per cent. rate on a substantially increased amount of capital. From these two sources Thomas Till- ing's 1938 revenue should be increased by some £5o,000 to £6o,000, which it is obviously safe to assume, on the strength of the results achieved by these undertakings, that the parent company itself has been able to raise its own earnings. For 1937 Thomas Tilling paid a io per cent. ordinary dividend out of disclosed earnings of 14 per cent., but it also distributed a 25 per cent. scrip bonus. The capital ranking for the 1938 dividend, shortly to be announced, has thus been increased. I feel confident, how- ever, that the Io per cent. rate will be comfortably main- tained. On this assumption the Li ordinaries, at 43s., yield about 41 per cent. They are a first-class investment holding at the price.
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