COMPANY NOTES
OLDHAM & SON have been trading since 1865, and are well known as makers of batteries. In spite of a decline in export sales of car batteries and the anticipated fall in home sales of batteries for the mining industry, Mr. John Oldham, the chairman, is confident for the future. He says `. . . our enterprise will continue to move from strength to strength as it has done in its past ninety years of trading. . . .' The parent company now heads an enterprise firmly based In two of the greatest markets of the world-the British Commonwealth and the Common Market. The range of batteries is being extended; sales or the three-year-old `Pg' type power and traction battery are also expanding. Plant and equipment expenditure has increased, thus bringing about a fall in net current assets and an increase in the bank overdraft. However, dividends have always been conservative so that there are substantial reserves; the dividend for the year ended March 31, 1959, is again 174- per cent., from earnings of 31.9 per cent. An improvement in the net profit, after tax, of £105,105 is expected this year. The Is. ordinary shares at 2s. 9d. yield 6.3 per cent.
Sempah (Holdings) Ltd. has issued its first report (to December 31, 1958) since a quotation was regranted a year ago on its change of status, funds being invested in one rubber company and two investment trusts. Although the income from the Malayan group fell from £21,000 to £13,000 last year, the dividend is being increased from 25 per cent, to 30 per cent, and the interim dividend for the current year from 10 per cent. to 121 per cent. The chairman, Brigadier F. C. Hopton Scott, says that income has yet to reflect the growing strength of the assets position and that the company is engaged in acquiring another business, which will materially increase the future revenue. He also proposes a most unusual scrip issue of 100 per cent. in deferred I s. shares from reserves. These shares will not receive any divi- dend (none is anticipated this year) until 50 per .cent. is paid on the ordinary 2s. shares, and at the same time no dividend in excess of 50 per cent. will be paid on the ordinary until this amount has been declared on the deferred. This new security, says the chairman, will have some immediate market value and can therefore be sold without in any way affecting the income from a share- holder's original holding. The 2s. ordinary shares, hacked by assets of about 9s. 3d. per share, stand at I 2s. 6d. to yield 4.8 per cent.
Radio and Allied (Holdings) Ltd., manufac- turers of the well-known Sobell and McMichael radio and television sets, have issued their first accounts, to April 30, 1959, since offering their 5s. ordinary shares to the public in May, 1958, at 9s. each. The prospectus estimated a trading profit of £821,000. This has been far exceeded by a figure of £1,253,000. so that a dividend of 22+ per cent, now declared, against a 15 per cent, forecast, is fully justified on the excellent results. The net profit after tax was £570,582. During this active year there have been big increases in stocks and debtors, but creditors, at £1,869,813, have more than doubled and cash balances are up by £65,000 to £127,056. Besides its radio and television, whose future is good, the company also has interests in electronics and electrical engineering business. The 5s. ordinary shares at 22s. yield 5.1 per cent,.
Singer and Friedlander, the international and merchant bankers, have reported higher profits for the year to December 31, 1958. The net profit was in fact £76,000 at £192,496, giving an earnings cover of 28.5 for the dividend of 6 per cent. This is arrived at by an interim of 24 per cent. and 4+ per cent. on capital increased by a 100 per cent. scrip issue since the interim payment. There has been a very large increase in investments; these are up from £2,639,000 to £4,810,690, while cur- rent deposits and other accounts have expanded to £2,500,000. The current year should be another good one for the company. Future prospects, the very well-covered dividend, and the fact that the interim dividend for the current year has just been increased from 1+ per cent, to 21 per cent, account for the low yield of 2.6 per cent. on the £1 ordinary shares at 45s.
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