Company Notes
By LOTHBURY
ANOTHER record year, 1965, for Rugby Port- land Cement, for the twentieth successive year, with pre-tax profits mounting to £3.66 million against £3.31 million. This time the chair- man, Sir Halford Reddish, holds the ordinary dividend at 15 per cent, with a final of 61 per cent, but there is to be a one-for-three scrip issue. The chairman is optimistic about the future and is still pushing ahead with the company's expan- sion programme. With the increasing demand for cement, the shares fully justify their low-yield status as a growth stock. The 5s. ordinary shares at 21s. 9d. yield 3.4 per cent.
Dr D. Rebbeck, the chairman of Harland and Wolff, advises in his report for 1965 that fur the next two years losses will be made on the current shipbuilding order book, but these will be alleviated_by profits from other activities. The shipbuilding programme stretches to the autumn of 1968 and no further shipbuilding contracts will be taken unless reasonable profitability is assured. With a group net loss. of £779,441 and no divi- dend, shareholders may have a long wait before they see any improvement in the price of the £1 ordinary shares, now. I Is. 3d.
The total income of the Norwich Union In- surance Group rose from £66.5 million to £67.9 million in 1965. The gross rate of interest earned on the world-wide life funds improved to the very satisfactory level of £6 9s. I Id. per cent. The president, Mr D. E. Longe, is confident that the society will continue to produce very satisfactory results for policyholders. After pro- Vision for all liabilities, the group profit and loss account showed a loss of £20,791 against a pre- vious profit of £184,575. The new tax system will have its full impact on the 1966 accounts, which, none the less, should not materially affect this sound and progressive group.
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