COMMERCIAL ITEMS

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2366, 23 January 1915, Page 10

COMMERCIAL ITEMS

DAiLGETY AND COMPANY. At the annual meeting of Messrs. Dalgety and Co., in- London, tho chairman, the Hon. Edmund W. Parker, ceid' that it had been the hope of the board that it would havo been justified in recommending payment or a bonus in addition to the ordinary dividend; but the war had intervened since the end of the financial year. The war had already .involved the company in severe loss, for which ample provieion had been made, and in certain directions it had materially reduced the volume of business. It had also hampered end restricted wool sales, especially In Australia, and, although this might be only a temporary inconvenience, it added materially to the difficulty of the moment.' The great bulk of the clip must,under existing conditions, find its way to Great Britain, and this involved the large question of transport, which was by no means easy of solution. ju6t now, with so many ships being taken up for Government requirements. . These were some of tho larger considerations which had influenced, the board in deciding hot to ask sanction for the customary appropriations for reserve and for writing down premises. This policy offered a reasonable assurance that, despite" the expected shrinkage in profits,- they may still count upon the receipt of their customary dividend in thecurrent year. But they must not expect more. The crisis, fortunately, found the company in a strong-position, and been able to surmount difficulties with com'parative case. Proceeding to deal with the balance-sheet, the chairman explained that the large amount of cosh, £'10,971, was mainly due to the unfavourable season, which induced the directors,to exorcise the utmost caution in making fresh advances. ; This amount represented not only 'money in London, but also tho amount to tho company's oredit at all their branches in Australia and New Zealand. Some shareholders, seeing- those figures, might be led to believe.that, in consequence of the war and- the conditions prevailing in the city, tho company had a large' amount of this money locked up for a long period. This -was pre-eminently a time for candour, and ho might say at once that at first they did have a relatively largo sum so lockod up, but, thanks to the prompt and enlightened action of the Government, they had recovered the greater part of it, and the shareholders might take it from hliu that tho balc-nco 1 was quite safe. As regarded the various securities of which the reserve is composed, they l would understand the pTactkal impossibility of accurate valuation at the present time. The directors had these securities valued as at Juno 30, when they showed a surplus of £12,000. Since then, of, course, all values had receded, and in most coses just now they wore merely nominal. The directors had reserved a lump sum which would, in their judgment, more than cover any probable tion. Adding, to the net profit of £219,482 the balance Wrought forward, they had a total of £312,014. Out of this the preference dividend and the interim dividend on the ordinary shares had been paid, and It was now proposed to pay a final dividend of 4s". per share, making 8 por cent, for the year, on the ordinary shares, to vote £10,000 to the staff benevolent fund, and to carry, forward £197,014. SOUTHEEN ifARKETO.

(By Telegraph.—Press Association.) Christchurch, January 22.The delay in arrival of the shipment of wheat from Sydney by the Kaiapoi has caused some inconvenience to local millers, whose stocks have run out, in consequence of having had to fill Government orders for flour for other parts of the Dominion that were out oi supplies. No new wheat has yet been offered. A few lines 'of new season's oats have been sold at prices ranging from 2s. 9d. to &. at country stations, according to quality. There is good inquiry, as the market is quite bare of stocks of oats. A few sales <»f the main orop of potatoes for March and April delivery have been made at £4 at country statioas. The late rains have been very beneficial to crops, and they are now looking well. ' Early potato crops in smell areas in and about the citr and suburbs have been redly damaged by green aphis, and although more were planted this year than usual in gardens, etc., yields generally are .very light. LONDON WOOL. MARKET. By. Telegraph—Press Association—Capyrlght London, January 21. The wool market is unchanged. There is strong competition at opening rates. Prices realised:—Eoonoke, IZJd., lid.; Koon, 84d:, Bid.; Brickhouse, 10d., 9Jd.; Degreay, 3d., Bd. New Zealand: Bulockheod, 23Jd., 203 d.; Akitds, 16id„ 15 3-Bd. Tho Bradford Tops market iB strong, all 6ort6 advancing. Prices: 26d., 25* d.. 25d., 27d., 25d„ 22Jd., 2M. BANK OF ENGLAND RETTJRN. By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright London, January 21. The Bank of England return issued for th« week ended Wednesday, January 2D, is as under:— Ihvb Siriminsxi K«to Illttt £88,101.000 Grr.iabt ... fn,015.000 ether stouritias ... ' m. 7,434.000 ' «»li 89,745,000. £88,194,000 . £88,194,000 BiHKJKS Cepjlstuenx. Pr«pri»t»r«' G«vt. woarlcapital £14,653,000 tits £18,088,000 Piblio it- Cther nouriposits ...37,588,000 tits 110.165.000 Other (U----ptiita ...126.285.000 Kttts ... 63,727,000 E eit, 7-diy md tthlt bi111... ... 3,610,000 Coin... „. 876,000 £181,936,000 £181,936,000 The leading items of tho Bank of England return afford the following comparl•on:— . . Thiiwuk Xitit wiik Liii year BillUn ...' ...'69.745.000 68,706.000 40,186,000 Rt»srT« 63.603,000 62,636,000 ,32,126,000 SoUlßßue ... 36.467.000 35.176.000 20,815,000 rubllo DepoiiU 37.688.000 ', 44.833.0C0 10.174,000 Othor Deposits 126,265.000 116,055,000 45,752,000 Proportion ef reserve te . lUbilitiM , 32.74 32.71 67.42. " GOVERNMENT BEOTJBITIBS. The following are the latest quotations for Consols and Colonial Government Securities with a comparison of those ruling lost week:—

MONEY MARKET. Tho Bank of England discount. rate was on January 2, 1914, reduced from 5 to 41 per cent., on January 22 it was reduced to 4 per cent., and on January 28 to 3 per cent. On July 30 the rate was rai6od to 4 per cont., on July 31 it was raised to 8 per cent., and on August t it was further advanced to 10 per cont. On August 6 the rate was reduced to 6 per cent., on Augu6t 7 it was further reduced to 5 per cent., at which rate it now stands. Tho Bank of Franco rate is 7 per centos against 7 per cont. last week, and 4 per cent, last year. ■ OPEN MARKET BATES, Tho open- market discount rato for three months' bills' is 1 -15-16 per cent., as compdrod with 2} per cent. last week, and 2 15-16 per cont. last year. Short loans are quoted at 18 per cent., ne against if per cont. last week, and 2 .rB per cent. laßi year. COLONIAL AND OTHER PRODUCE. Wheat.—Tho market is firm, and there is a, slight advance in voluob. Northern Manitoba, February-March shipment, 58s per quarter. Flour is steady at late rates. Beans, peas, and barley are firm Oats are very firm. Bahia Blanai, De-cember-January shipment, 295. 9d. Butter—Tho market is a shade easier owing to the weaker tone of Danish. There is good inquiry for colonial butter at lato rates. Delivery Is slow. Cheese.—The market is firm. -Slow discharge is causing difficulty in filling Government contracts. Now Zealand., 82s. to 83s. The Rosoommon's Australian shipment at Liverpool realised 80s. to 82s. Bacon—Market firm. Australinn, Oumberlands, 665. Sugar.—American granulated sugar is unchanged at 27f1. per owt. METAL MARKETS. Copper.—On spot, £61; 17e. 6d. to £62 2s. 6d. per ton; three months, £62 to £62 ss.i--electrolytic, £65 to £65 10s. Pig-iron, 545. lOd. per ton. Lead, soft foreign, £18 Bs. 9d. to £18 10«. per ton. Spelter, £31 17s. 6d. to £32 2s. 6d. per ton. Silver—Bar silver is quoted at 22jd. pur ounce standard. Tba.-On the spot, £167 10s. to £158; this? months, £150 15s. to £151 6s. VICTORIAN PRODUCE MARKET. Melbourne, January 21. < Wheat, 7s. 3d. to 7s. 6d. Flour, £16 Its. Barley, English, ss. 9d. to 6s. lid.; Cape, 4s. sd. to 4s. 7d. Oats, Algerian, 4s'.' 6d. Maize, 6s. 2Jd. Potatoes, £3 to £4. Onions, £7 to £8.

'Vsrl&tlin _ coMpand ' frlci. with Itlt TTUk, £ i. i. M% lwrM Consols 68 11 6 Unchanged I ,.N.g.W.1933Jan.-JuIy 99 7 G c 8 hlehor !J 07 0 • •Unchanged 3 „«.«.W. 19-25 Apl.-Oct 7915 0 Wnohang«a < „Vio. 19J0Jan.-July St J 6 2/6 lower 81 ..Vlc. 19-21-6 Jan.-Jttly 91 1 6 7/6 lower 3 „Vic.l923-«Jan.-July ,70 2 |i 2/(i lowor 3i „S,A. 1916,7an.-July 69 0 0 Unchanged 3 ,.S.A. 1916Jan.-JuIy 73 7 K Unohanaed 4 „QTdl915-5)Jan.-July 99 0 0; 5s nighor 34 ,.Q'l'dl922-«Jan.July 94 0 0 Unchaugad 3 „Q'\'&MWi3o.a.-la\y 70 5 0 25s higher 4 „N.Z. 1939 May-Nov. .97 10 0 Bnchanscd 34 -..N.Z.WlHojan.-July ,.87 3 g i,fl knvor 3 „N.Z. 1920 April-Oct. 77 10 0 3/6 lowor 34 „W.A.1015-35 May-Nor -60 5 0 Unchanged 3 „W.A,J91.i-35JIoj--N , «T 83 10 0 Unchnns<.d 3 ..Tis. lOJOJan.-July 80 5 0 Unchansoi 3 „X>i,1920-<0Jan.-July 79 is « Uactuog.*