COMPANY MEETING
TELEPHONE RENTALS
ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL YEAR Tim sixteenth. annual general meeting of Telephone Rentals, Limited, was held on September 24th in London.
Mr. Fred T. Jackson, O.B.E., Comp. I.E.E. (chairman and joint managing director) said that the dividends received from subsidiary com- panies, £136,600, were cimilar to the figure for the previous year, and the net pi-ofit for the year amounted to £139,794, as compared with £138,851 for the previous year. National taxation absorbed £95,407, and after again transferring £5,000 to general reserve, the directors recommended a final dividend of 6 per cent., making to per cent. for the year. All the British subsidiary companies had traded at a profit during the year, and such profits had been included in the accounts to the extent of the dividends declared. It had been decided to merge the subsidiary companies, with one or two exceptions, into the parent company. At the last meeting he reported that they were examining their organisation with the object of improving its efficiency. The merging of the subsidiaries into the parent company was one of the results of the examination.
Taking into consideration the difficulties brought about through shortage of labour and materials, he thought that the results could be considered satisfactory. But so long as the present high rate of income tax and excess profits tax continued it was not possible to increase the rate of dividend nor could they strengthen their financial structure to the extent they would like.
In his opinion the continuance of the present high rate of taxation would imperil the soundness of the industrial economy of our country. It acted as a brake on enterprise and development in industrial concerns, for no funds were free to finance any expansion. No increased return could be made to shareholders, with the result that they, in turn, were unable to give financial support to promising industries.
He was pleased to be in a position to report that the volume of business secured in the current year so far was most satisfactory. Relations with their subscribers continued on a most friendly basis, an aspect which they onsidered to be of great importance to the continual prosperity of the ompany.
The Telephone Rentals services they provided, consisting of tele- ommunications, time control, and factory broadcasting, were very much ppreciated as an aid to efficiency and production.
The report was adopted.
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