COMPAN Y NOTES
HICKING PENTECOST & CO., the old- established group of bleachers, dyers and finishers, of Nottingham, has, in spite of more competitive trading conditions which are preva- lent in this industry, reported increased net profits at £113,860 to March 31, 1958, as against £92,095 for the previous year. This has been achieved in spite of the loss at Bobbers Mill by fire last year, but it is now coming into production again. The company has recently acquired the Textile Decorative Company, of Long Eaton, which should prove a useful addition. The 'chairman, Mr. L. S. Pentecost, advises that new machines of the latest type are being installed to keep pace with modern processing in the textile trade. Re- tained profits, plus insurance compensation paid for fire damage, have swelled the company's re- serves—cash has increased from £96,000 to £218,000. Although the immediate outlook does not suggest that current profits will be as good as last year, there should be no reason to doubt the maintenance of the 15 per cent. dividend paid for the past three years. There is one class of capital, £597,600 in 10s. ordinary shares, which at 12s. 3d. return as much as £12 4s. Od. per cent.
John Brown, with its many subsidiary interests in machine tools, boring drills, water turbines and engineering products, has achieved another good year, although it is apparent that there is now a surplus of boiler-making capacity in this country. Lord Aberconway, the chairman, reports that the machine-tool company (Wickman) con- tributed no fewer than £1.24 million to the trad- ing surplus of the group in spite of the recession in the machine-tool industry. Shipbuilding, too, has its uncertainties for the future, and Lord Aberconway acknowledges this when he states the 'British shipowners must be congratulated on the robdstness of their long-term view.' He goes on to say that 'by and large your board is con- fident that given reasonable trading conditions the company can squarely meet whatever is in store.' Gross profit was £4,268,088 and net profit
£1,505,488, giving a better cover (21) for the 10 per cent. dividend. The financial position is im- mensely strong, and although there may not now be the same rewards available to the heavy en- gineering industry, the price of this company's £1 ordinary shares at 29s. 6d. seems about right to yield 6.65 per cent.
Thorn Electrical Industries since its formation twenty-one years ago can claim uninterrupted ex- pansion. In the excellent report produced by Mr. Jules Thorn, the chairman, it is stated that its radio and television interests have been enlarged in the past year by adding to the 'Ferguson' range the trade marks 'HMV' and `Marconiphone,' formerly of Electrical and Musical Industries. The chairman states that in 'the general field of television the company leads the industry. Sales of fluorescent lighting have considerably in- creased through the subsidiary, Atlas Lighting. Two 'Son et Lumiere' spectacles were provided, one at Cardiff Castle, the other at Greenwich. The electric cooker division has recently pro- duced two first-class selling models, the 'Viscount' and the luxury `Marqujs.' Overseas expansion continues in the lamp factories in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. This physical expan- sion is naturally reflected in the balance sheet. A 10 per cent. increase in the trading profit at £2.34 million has resulted in a net profit of £643,000 in the year to March 31, 1958, which is a new record. Earnings of 67 per cent. covered the maintained dividend of 171 per cent. 3.8 times. With its wonderful past record and future prospects the 5s. ordinary shares at 22s. 3d. de- serve their high investment status to yield 3.9 per cent.
British Motor Corporation has achieved an all- time record for any British or European motor manufacturer, having produced and sold 504,712 vehicles of all types in the twelve months ending July 31, 1958. This is 65,000 more vehicles than the previous best in 1955-56. Exports were 16 per cent.' higher than in 1956-57. Those to the US were par-
ticularly high and earned the corporation $75 million. A large 'percentage of Models sold to Americans Were Austin Healey and MGA sports cars. Largest export markets after the US were Australia, South Africa, Canada, New Zealand and Sweden, in that order. it is estimated that 45 per cent, of all cars sold in Great Britain came from the BMC. Although the 5s. ordinary shares have risen from 7s. to 9s. this year, they should be retained for the dividend to be declared in Decem- ber. Last year this was 121 per cent.
Tunnel Portland Cement Co. has reported lower gross trading profits at £2,578,200 for the year to March 31, 1958. This is explained by the chairman, Mr. N. M. Jensen, as being due to the increase in Bank rate and to the credit squeeze, which caused a decline in the building trades. However, there has been an improvement since April, he says, both as regards deliveries in the
home market and in the margin, of profit. He points out that it is particularly galling to find that the National Coal Board are offering their continental competitors the most suitable types of coal for cement manufacture at lower prices than they charge to the company, and yet refuse to allow the company to import suitable coal at lower prices. The subsidiary companies in the Sudan and Cyprus have both been working to capacity, and the new works in Kenya came into production in April. The lower net profit of £991,377 provides a 2.7 cover for the 101 per cent. dividend on the ordinary capital which is payable on the capital as increased by the bonus issues of one in five shares last year. It is proposed to pay a special bonus of 1 per cent, tax free from capital profits. The 10s. 'B' ordinary shares have improved from 16s. 6d. to 23s. 9d., to yield 41 per cent.
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