Financial Notes

MARKETS MARKING TIME.

THE Stock Markets during the past week have still been dominated by political influences, though there has been a strong undercurrent of optimism. At the moment of writing, however, there is a decided disposition to mark time pending further political developments. This is certainly not sur- prising having regard to the important issues at stake involved in the discussions now proceeding between the various European powers.

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BANKING IN INDIA.

Although the profits of the National Bank of India for last year were about £20,000 down at £1,004,000, there was a further reduction in management expenses, with the result that the net profit showed very little change at £457,570. The dividend is maintained at the rate of 18 per cent., with 150,000 added to Pensions Fund and a similar amount transferred to Contingencies Fund. A year ago no transfer was made to Contingencies, but £50,000 was written off House Property Account. The balance-sheet shows a moderate increase in Deposits for the year and also a Very liquid position.

THE EASTERN BANK.

At the recent annual general meeting of the Eastern Bank, Mr. J. S. Haskell, the Chairman, stated that the past year had again been a difficult one and he:particularly men- tioned that the attempt of the United States to " boost " silver had severely disorganised business in China and had resulted in a fiasco. Nevertheless, the company had been able to make a profit for the year of £125,000, and a further dividend was announced of 3 per cent., making 6 per cent. for the year. With regard to the current year, Mr. Haskell remarked that the recent developments of the political situation rendered prospects uncertain, otherwise there was every indication of further general progress towards recovery.

* CHARTERED BANK OF INDIA.

The latest report and balance-iheet of the Chartered Bank of India shows that once again the directors are able to pay a dividend at the rate of 14 per cent. per annum, adding £50,000 to the Officers' Pension Fund and writing off £25,000 from Premises Account ; the balance carried forward is £181,037, against £177,395 a year ago. The balance-sheet shows just a small decline in Deposits and in .Loans and Discounts, but a rise of over £1,000,000 in Government and other Securities.

LANCASHIRE STEEL.

Fresh evidence of the great recovery which is being made in the iron and steel industry comes to hand almost every day, and the address delivered last week at the annual meeting of the Lancashire Steel Corporation by Mr. John E. James, the chairman and managing director, was of a most encourag- ing character. The profit for the year showed a great increase at £417,000 and the directors have been able to recommend, in addition to the dividend on the Preference shares, 4 per cent. on the Ordinary shares, with a substantial carry forward, while the balance-sheet is a strong one. In the course of his remarks the chairman and managing director referred to the effect upon industry of the higher prices of coal and mentioned with approval the policy pursued by the steel industry, namely, not to pass on the charge to consumers, but to increase prices for future business by a modest amount, such increases heing confined to those classes of production where margins had previously been very narrow and were now almost non-existent as a result of increased cost of raw materials, including coal. " If, in future," said Mr. James, " advances in wages in any industry are to be added immediately to the selling prices of the products, not only of that industry, but of other trades using that industry's products, a vicious circle of rising prices will be set up which may well have serious consequences for the country."

• CA3I3ELL LAIRD RESULTS.

Shipbuilding and engineering are closely allied to the iron and steel industry, and the latest accounts of Cammell Laird and Co., the Birkenhead shipbuilding and engineering firm, show it jump in profits for last year from £29,173 to 1110,688; More- over, the company has investments in English Steel Corpora- tion of £519,752 at par, on which substantial dividends accrue in the current year, following the advance in the revenue of the Corporation. Other investments also are of a . most satisfactory character. The tonnage launched by the company last year was 31,244 as against 22,975 in 1934.

FIRTH-BROWN REPORT.

Yet another example of improved results in the iron, and steel industry is furnished in the latest report of Thomas Firth and John Brown Ltd., whose turnover and profit hat c both been increased during the past year. The profit for the year was £572,597 against £483,458 for the previous year. A sum of £72,000 is allowed for depreciation, while Income Tax provision requires £98,000 against £10,000 in the previous year, so that after provision for Debenture interest, the net profit was £853,029 against £345,039 for the previous year, wheh three years' arrears of Preference dividend had to be paid. The company, however, is now able to pay a dividend on the Ordinary shares of 124 per cent.. against 5 per cent., while the allocation to the Reserve is doubledat £100,000, still leaving a sum of £69,200 to be carried forward.

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Financial Notes

(Continued frcnn page 596.) ELECTRICITY SUPPLY ConcesmEs.

With scarcely an exception, the reports of Electricity Supply companies continue to show increased use of electricity. Three Supply Companies, two associated with the County of London, have recently published their reports, namely, the South London, the South Metropolitan and the Bournemouth and Poole Companies. All three Companies maintain the same dividends as in the previous year, namely, 7 per cent. (being the standard rate) on South London Ordinary Shares, 9 per cent. on- South Metropolitan and 15 per cent. in the case of Bournemouth and Poole. All three Companies report a marked increase in the total of units sold. In the case of the

Bournemouth and Poole Company the Directors recommend that the Ordinary Shares should now be converted into Ordinary Stock, explaining that the proposal does not in any way affect any benefits or privileges that the shareholders now possess.

* * * * VICKERS' RESULTS.

Perhaps, however, no greater example of the recovery which has taken place in industrial concerns could be cited than that of Vickers Limited, whose accounts for the past year make a most impressive showing. For 1933, the Company earned a profit of £816,000 ; in the following year the figure was increased to £970,000, and now for 1935 the amount is £1,368,000. The dividends have risen successively from 4 to 6 and from 6 to 8 per cent. The Directors are now pro- posing to capitalise £2,052,580 of the Reserve and to issue as a bonus one 3s. 4d. share for every 6s. 8d. share held, these shares later to be consolidated into 10s. units of stock. The balance-sheet is a very strong one, including £448,000 in cash and £6,115,000 in British Government Securities.

* * * * C.P.R. FIGURES.

The full report of the Canadian Pacific Railway makes rather discouraging reading for those interested in the welfare of Canada. The net earnings for 1935 declined by 1,987,000 dollars, and the Directors state that earnings from grain and grain products were lower than in any year since 1914. Among other things, the report states that the total annual economy to be derived from the arrangements with the Cana:- dian Northern is estimated at slightly less than 1,600,000 dollars, one-half of which will accrue to each Company. An interesting point disclosed in the report is that 97.9 per cent. of the Preference Stock and 534 per cent. of the Ordinary* Stock is held in the United Kingdom and the Empire out- side Canada.

* * * * THAMES HAVEN WHARVES.

Although the accounts of London and Thames Haven Oil Wharves show an apparent fall in profits for the past year, the dividend is maintained at 10 per cent., free of tax, plus a bonus of 4 per cent., less tax. As a matter of fact; the figures have to be read in conjunction with the changes which took place early this year when the Company's investment in the Compagnie Industrielle Maritime was transferred to a holding company after paying a dividend for the first time. The main purpose of this was to provide the Thames Company with more working capital and the present accounts show a holding of cash of £694,975, against £71,179 in the previous balance-sheet. On the other hand, the transaction resulted in a transfer from subsidiary companies to other investments, subsidiaries now standing at £73,501, against £655,135 and other investments have increased from £5,505 to £913,673.

* * * * MAPLE'S PROFIT'S UP.

The report of Maple and Co., Limited, for 1935 shows a substantial rise in net profit from £219,000 to £258,000, and the dividend has been raised from 5 to 7 per cent. The consolidated balance-sheet covering the company and its subsidiaries is also a good one, showing floating assets at £2,214,000 as compared with current liabilities of 1300,452. The directors propose earmarking a further £42,716 of the General Reserve to cover possible depreciation of the liquid assets of the subsidiaries.

* * * UNITED INVESTORS CO-OP.

An extremely interesting speech was delivered by Viscount Brentford at the recent annual general meeting of the United Investors Co-operative Society, in the course of which he stated that during the year the increase in member- ship and the expansion of the Society's operations had exceeded the directors' most sanguine expectations. The net trading profit for the year was £13,814, and the dividend was declared

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Financial Notes

(Continued from page 598.)

at the rate of 41 per cent., free of tax, equivalent to a yield of £3 16s. Id. per cent. for the year. The subscribed capital of the Society now amounts to over a quarter of a million pounds, and the total property-holdings exceed £600,000.

A SOUND INVESTMENT.

Readers of this column scarcely need to be told with what reluctance I am inclined to recommend any particular invest- ment. There is at the moment one, however, which I can confidently recommend to all fmancial and commercial institutions, and also to all investors who desire the latest and fullest information with regard to all securities quoted on the London Stock Exchange. I need scarcely say that I ant referring to the latest edition of the Stock Exchange Official Year-Book for 1936. It is an expensive work, published by Messrs. Thomas Skinner and Co., of Gresham House, E.C., at the price of £3 net, but it would be true to say that it is cheap at the price, for long experience has tested its reliability in the matter of information con- cerning every kind of security quoted on the Stock Exchange. To the many financial institutions with whom the work is familiar it is unnecessary to give any detailed description of its contents, but to the ordinary investor, whose transactions are sufficiently numerous and important to warrant the investment at the price of the volume, it may be explained that concerning every security there is given just that informa- tion which is important to the intending investor. A brief history of the company or the security is given, with all details as to capital, dividends and so-forth, together with lists of directors, and inmost cases the range of prices of the particular security during the previous year. The latest volume contains many additions of new securities, while a special section deals with particulars of some fifty-six of the