Sanford profit well down

Press, 26 April 1979, Page 27

Sanford profit well down

[PA Auckland! ! Sanford, Ltd, is holding [ interim dividend al a steady ! 8c a share (8 per cent) i despite a substantially lower (group net profit for the half [year ended February 28. | i No figures were given. I ’Sanford because the • I seasonal nature of its I business has a dispenation | [from the Stock Exchange! |Association which allows the; [company to file a half-j ' yearly report without[ figures. The directors said in a( brief announcement that! input from both trawling [ and purse seining in the • first half was 8.5 per centj higher in tonnage than the same period last year, but’ margins were lower. The chairman (Mr S. J., Lavelle) told the annual; meeting in December that! the catch in the first quarter! to November was 18 per! cent ahead of the) comparable period a year’ I ago. j Trading for the remainder of the year appeared!; difficult, the directors said,

i'but they are confident that a satisfactory result will be ; achieved, -but not to the ■ level of last year. i In the yegr to August 31, ■ Sanford reportd a 41 per cent drop in profit to ; $712,442; this was after the (record $1,223,748 of the [previous year. • [ The interim dividend will [be paid on May 1, ex May 1114. ■i There were no sales of ■[Sanford shares reported on [ the Stock Exchange on [Tuesday. ( In Christchurch buyers are I offering 220 c, while in [Auckland buyers lifted their [offer price by 10c to 210 c [and sellers adjusted the | asking price by the same [ amount to 250 c. Last sales [were at 245 c on April 9. The • share price reached its low [ for the year in March, with I [sales at 210 c. The high for [the year is 290 c in January; ; this was midway through [ the steady decline, which [ began last July when a i plateau of 400 c was reached. In Marcli last year, the • shares were at their all-time ’ high of 435 c. |