COMPA I Y MEETING
GREAT UNIVERSAL STORES, LTD.
THE twenty-second ordinary general meeting of the Great Universal Stores, Ltd., was held on August 30th last at the Institute of Chartered Accountants, Meorgate Place, Mr. Isaac Weilfson (managing director) presided in the absence of Sir Archibald Mitchelson, Bt., and read the speech he had prepared, which was as follows:
We have acquired several kindred firms, and our balance-sheet shows this expansion. In fact, the Great Universal Stores, Limited, should now be considered more as a holding company, since its total direct issets are small in relation to assets not far short of £3,500,000 in our various subsidiary companies.
You will see from the profit and loss account that the combined trading profit shown after deduction of interest charges except deben- ture interest, is £480,943, as compared with £614,391. From this profit for the year we are providing for depreciation the sum of £61,545, as against £39,380, and directors' fees, £4,500. From this there has to be deducted debenture interest £41,012, Pre- ference dividends for the year £39,284 net, the interim dividend on the ordinary shares of to per cent., less tax (i.e., 20 per cent., less tax, on the old capital) amounting to £65,000 and dividends of subsidiary companies on shares not held by us £663, leaving a balance available of £,15.105, making, with the amount of £23,406 brought in from the previous year, £38,511. A final dividend on the £1,000.000 of ordin- ary capital is recommended of 21 per cent., less tax, amounting to £14,375, making 121 per cent., less tax, for the year on the increased share capital, leaving to be carried forward the sum of £24,136. I will now turn to the consolidated balance-sheet. On the asset side, with regard to item goodwill, I have referred to this on a former occasion, and am only mentioning it now because our attention has been called to it again by one or two people. I think, however, that the remarks I made at last year's annual general meeting conveyed a clear explanation of the nature of this item; I stated that it represented, broadly speaking, the amount paid for the acquisition of certain sub- sidiary companies over and above the amounts at which their assets stood in their respective balance-sheets at the time of the acquisitions, and I went on to say that the value of this goodwill lay in the estab- lished earning power of these subsidiary companies. Your directors, naturally, regret that under the existing abnormal conditions what we have come to regard as our normal dividend of 25 per cent. per annum (the equivalent of 5o per cent. on the old capital which has been paid for many years in succession) has been reduced to 121 per cent. on the increased capital. They feel, however, that you will appreciate the reasons. The report and accounts were unanimously adopted.
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