Financial Notes
THE P. AND 0. MEETING.
It is not surprising that P. and 0. stocks should have risen following upon the speech of Lord Inchcape at the meeting. For in the most casual and dry fashion he more than endorsed the impression in shipping and financial circles that the conservative policy of the company is such that the financial position is even stronger than is apparent from a cursory examination of the balance-sheet, although the balance- sheet is a good one. In spite of abnormal depression the company has maintained its dividend for the past year, and when referring almost incidentally, in passing, to the assets of the company, Lord Inchcape said : " It appears from a conservative statement which our accountants recently prepared and which was submitted to the Board, that the P. and 0. Company, if broken up to-morrow, the ships it owns sold at very low prices, and its investments disposed of at current market rates, would be able to discharge its entire obligations and its Preference Stock and be in a position to give the Deferred Stockholders a good deal more than to-day's market value of their holdings. But the P. and 0. Company will not be broken up. As I ventured to say a year or two ago, we are a National Institution. Our first object is to give a good, regular, and reliable service to the public, and in doing this we hope to earn a reasonable margin of profit for our stockholders. We mean to go on through bad times as well as good, and, optimist as I have been all my life, I am con- vinced good times for us will come again."
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