A GOOD YEAR.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1530, 28 August 1912, Page 10

A GOOD YEAR.

WELLINGTON MEAT EXPORT CO. ANNUAL MEETING. The annual meeting of the Wcllingto Meat Export Company was held in th Chamber of Commerce yesterday, in th presence of a lair attendance of share holders. Mr. W. G. Foster, managin director, who occupied the chair, said, i: moving the adoption of the report an balance-sheet (already published), tha the results of the year's business ha< proved not only very satisfactory, but tha its out-turn was much beyond what th conditions in tho opening of the seaso: led them to expect. Prices in the countr; opened at levels, which, compared witi ruling Home market values, promised i lean profit, but tho anticipated shortag in the world's supply became evident ii time to tip the scales in tho company' favour, with tho result shown in the profi and loss account.. These figures, of course were as at Juno 30, at which time a larg' proportion of stocks were on hand am afloat unsold, the realisation of which hac provided a nest egg towards tho ensuinj (•ear. This very satisfactory out-tun must not mislead shareholders with th< idea that similar conditions might safeli be relied upon year after year. The fac' ivas that the meat market furnished ul the factors for a "big gamble," and whilst ;ho board endeavoured to conduct th< lompany's business on safe lines, surprise: flrere to bo expected, and, whilst this >ne had been of an agreeable nature, i! vould ba within the memory of share solders that they had previously had tin reverse of this picture, and might do s< igain, and at any time. Shareholders would notice that agita ;ion'was still rifo for'new works anc ■xtension of present works in tho country rat that this was not warranted in re alion to production was conclusive!) >roved by the shortness of tho working eason. The producer did not seem tc ealise that dividends must be made, and is low cost bore closo relation to value if their products, they were all tho time osing when works wero in excess of need, s Features of tho Balance-Sheet. The chairman then mado tho following omparison of features in tho balancoheet:— 1911. 1912. £. £ forks, properties, and plant 9193 91-14 nsurance reserve 1000 2300 Reserve fund 1000 1500 legalisation of dividend reserve 2000 3000 .nd as proposed to carry forward 2018 1863 This was an increase over all, after deucting the amount brought forward at of each period, of .£l9lO. In iew of the risks attendant upon the meat usincss, he thought this courso would jmmend itself to shareholders. "The season, whilst one of plentiful pasire," said the chairman, "was not a )ally good fattening one, and as a con?quence tho superior grades were relavely less, but the conditions enabled isicr holding and consequently less presiro for the time both on the means of mveyance to works and on tho works lemscives. To this was due the coniparavcly small inconvenience experienced y tho producer by tho strike of general orkers which took place in February and isted for a. fortnight. Of course, the iss to companies was not inconsiderable, icurring as it did at the busiest time of le year, and the loss of employment to ao staff represented in tho aggregate a urn which the advanced rate of wanes ould take a long time to restore. Tho Dmpany's killing for the period would robably havo amounted to 57,000. "The export of frozen meat' to the fnited Kingdom for the year, with tho tception of beef, shows considerable defease on that of the previous twelve lonths, as under, duo largely to the rought in Australia, and to the late and et season in tho South Island, the figures eing, viz.:— N.Z. Sheep lambs Qrs. Beef ear to June 30, 1911 ... 1,926,500 3,141,000 244,000 ear to June 30, 1912 ... 2,108,750 3,032,750 138,850 Increase 182,250 , Decrease 408,250 105,150 From other countries the exports are:— N.Z. Sheep Lanibs Qrs. Beef par to June 30, 1911 ... 5,193,900 2,424,375 3,998,750 ear to June 30, 1912 ... 4,675,851 2,531,274 4,306,905 Increase 109,899* 308,155 Decrease 515.016 owing for all sources— A decrease in sheep of 335,796 carcasses A decrease in lambs of 298,351 carcasses An increaso in beef of 203,005 quarters Home Handling. "As you will have soen from your newsiper.s a subject that has claimed and tracted considerable attention is tho nditions which exist at United Kingim ports, and especially London, for nulling frozen meat, those conditions ing much below the necessities of tho iide. Freezing companies claim, and sily so, that no expense is spared to aco their meat at ship's side in perfect ndition, hard frozen, clean both as to irt and its enclosed carcass, and witht damage from rough handling. Tho jding into vessel is carefully tended by e ships, and in equally good condition all respects it should, and does, reach melon, but the treatment it receives at e quay, and subsequently, induces I'luile different stato of affairs when seen on e. market. However, tho North Island -ezing companies, realising that only bv strong combination of those in the trade nld betterment be secured, decided to iko united demand upon the Port of mdon Authority. Certain of the North [rind companies which hare not offices tlia .United Kingdom, arnowted a its.x°-..

iir- sonintive to press (ho claims, and he. £8 strong.v supported by tho Home repre "B .senlatives „ other companies, Os. Zealand business houses interested in he trade, tins succeeded in mSfm t L ° mltm A » l !'°''ity'". «> er" . ° , l *! nc ? I "' Dccecl wi,l > tlio lICCPSIy; ?, He S *c- of its constitution „ s " to" retrieve the trade of the port, ?1 ich hid M- from better nnd cheaper condition' J» Id. Sjf.™ **n driftinir from it. TT recent strike has undoubtedly set thinrs ill £5 considerably, but this should d an i centiye tea prompter -and mow iK - S"!o*p^a a fT« at '^»^& 0 r <liti - - at portation l f er some time past received the donation ton of the Port of London AuUioritv 0 , Iho Authority hare been in commur ca 193 s° welfa P , r -| " C - erS "I* 1 s '»'PPO« abr" as well as with importers and merchants in London, with the view of providing nd! dinonnl and imnrnverl «„„,.„ " 5 tion for the Tide?* A? 0 suit arrangements have now been a£ bo available m the near future for the , r . 1,100,000 carcasses. The recent decision to !i - cold store at West »e bmithfield lias been followed by the adop e hon of a scheme which will admit "fa 9 !, Urtl \ e r, 25 M° «««»«» being bred at 1 ™, Alb l rt - Doclc - ,mder comlitions un at surpassed in any port of the Kingdom in a An Outlay of £275,000, id , '! 0 , n the completion of the works the a. total capacity of the Authority-™ cold in stores, stated in terms of carcases of is mutton, will be as follows:- » Albert Dock C "S P- Victoria Dock JZZ"~ w 000 ro WesT; Smithfield J'2 West India Dock ...Z ,o'Snn Surrey Commercial Dock..."!; G^OOO , 1.05G.000 r- ah j. 9 additional accommodation at the , r Albert Dock which will involve an out! lay of about .£275,000, will mark a new departure, as it will include pro4ion for ihW?n C nM r?B A COnvcyors direct f ™" n & q f lUt ° $ re ? c °»™°<l>°«s sorting sheds Ihis method wil avoid undue C hng n ln the »»°P. which tendT o •j 5° H 1 ? mcat ' and wiU father proyido for the rapid transit of tho meat „. from the refrigerated chambers of the vessel into the capacious insulated sorting sheds. In. this way the exposure of the meat to. higher temperature during the process of discharge mil be reduced to an absolute minimum, and the discharge of the vessels carrying the meat will be considerably accelerated Tho construction of tho huge cold store for 250,000 carcasses at the rear of the sorting sheds will provide the best a accommodation for such meat, as it is not e desired to transfer at once from the shed e to insulated railway trucks, road vans or s- barges. ' g ~l lr- ,'T - .l lot t seconded the motion for a tho adoption of tho report and balanced sheet, which was agreed to. t Messrs E; Newman and J. Campion d were elected as directors unopposedt Mr. Henry Blundell moved that tho ree numeration of directors be the same as n Inst r yenv, This was agreed to. y Mr. \Ym. Watson moved, and it was li agreed to, that, the remuneration of a auditors bo ,£l5O,- divided between the e three. a Mr W. C. Buchanan, in acknowledging 3 l- , ,? f thanks to the directors, ment tioned that the company had had its little ~ troubles in the way of strikes, etc. Still, e the country was prosperous, and ho 1 thought they could look forward to tho 1 future with hope. They had had a little ; bit of snow on the mountain tips, but l they hadn't buried 100,000 sheep in the a snow as they had done in the south. On r the whole he thought they could shako t hands with themselves on their success 1 up to the present, and look forward with t confidence to tho future. (Applause.) s KAIAPOI WOOLLEN CO. t - (By Teleeranh.-Prcsa Association.) ) _. Chrlstchurch, August 27. The annual meeting of the Kaiapoi Woollen Company was held this afternoon. Mr. - G. H. Blackwell, chairman of directors, 1 presided. . The directors' annual report , stated that during the year the 6tnff and . plant had been fully employed. The re- ' 2"' .<!' tlie year's operations had enabled , the directors to recommend the usual alio- ' cation for dividend, and to further , strengthen the Tescrvo fund. Stocks had i been carefully scrutinised, and provision > made for doubtful accounts. Properties > and plant were in excellent condition. Tho , sum of £1592 had been expended in new plant, £1834 in repairs, and £4000 provided for depreciation. The profit and loss account, after payment of an interim divid?n!Lt? January 31 last, showed a balance of £12.335 2s. Sd. available for distribution. The director." recommended the following allocation :-£7608 2s. Bd. for the payment of J. half-year s dividend, making 7 per cent for the year on ordinary and 6| per cent on preference shares; £20C0 to reserve fund; fwn ii. l M nri J nc £ TCFe r™i the balance, AZZZ6 19s. 9d„ to be carried forward to now account. Tho report was adopted. The chairman said the past vea.r had been a busy one. All previous 'records were ' surpaßEed The only trouble was wint of labour Largo orders bad to be de-lined on thflt.account. The outlook for the future was bright, and he could see no reaion ] for the orloomy views hold in F o mc nuVrtcM as to the state of tmde in New Zealand .Tndttins by some of the ha.|„ n ce-sli»e s l,c had seen published lately there seemed to be no trade depression at all. tcemea t0 • MINING NEWS. WELLINGTON SHABE MAIIKET. At the morning call yesterday, a Fnle of \Vaitangi at Is. was made on 'Change; in the afternoon two sales of New Sylvia at Is. 2d., and.Talisman at £2. were reported; . £!.,™f le Sfi Wa , ltal . l si. at Is., was made on ' Change. The buying and selling Quotations were as under:— " Bnyors. Bcllers. £ s. d. £ s. d. Dominion 0 0 3 0 0 4 Kuranul Caledonian 0 15 0 18 New Sylvia nil 013 Eoss Reconstructed 0 5 4 — Saxon 0 10 - Tairua. Mines _ 0 0 3 Talisman ....; 119 9 _ Waihi _ 1 <c x Waihi Reefs Z - 0 1 2 ' Waibi Grand Junction ... 1 1 3 119 1 Waitajigi old 012 Worksop Dredge 3 3 0 — STOCK EXCHANGE. ffly Toiograph.-Pras Association.! _ . Auckland, August 27. BusincfK done at this morning's call-— Occidental, Is. 2d. Waitangi, Is. Id. New Saxon, 1?. Id. Hanraki, Is. 6d. Talisman, £2 Cs. 6d. Waihi-Paeroa, £1 16s. Northem Coal, Us. 9d. Northern' Steam (paid), 15s. 3d. The following business was done at tho 3.15 p.m. call:— Moanatalari. ljd. Occidental Consolidated, Is. 2d. Saxon, Is. if Waiotahi. 2s. 2d. Komata P.ecfs, lid. Rising Sun. 4jd. Talisman Consolidated, £2. IVn-ilii Extended, 4d. N.Z. Insurance, £4 14s. Taupiri Coiioolidated, £1 3s. 2d. Union Stea.m, £2 7s. 9d. Auokla.nd Trams (pref.l, £1 3s. 6d. Northern Steam fp.u.), 15s. 3d. Chrlstchurch, August 27. Sales reported: ltiver Plate Land 19« • Permanent Investment, £10; Kaiapoi Woob lon (ex div.), £5 2s. 6d. „.,,,. , Dunedln, August 27. The following solos wore reported on the Slock Exchange to-day:— Talisman Consolidated, £2 os. 9d." Vaihf, £1 14s. 9d. Ease and Shine, £1 3s. 6d. [ M London quotations. „ . , , , . London, August 26. Yesterday 5 closing quotations were-— Waihi Gold-mining, 32-5. 6rt. (buyers), and 355. (Fellore); Grand Junction, 21s. &d and 225. .. Cider was mndo in England so long ago as the thirteenth century. Pins were first manufactured by machinery in England iu 1824. Stylo (502 iu Warner's Rust-proof Corsets r is a shapo that gives the figure a lot of "dash" by delineating the waist and slightly curving the hips. This model strongly recommended for tho average figure! price Us, Gd, Wellington Drapers, -Aai,t. • -J. .