RAILWAY ECONOMY

Hokitika Guardian, 7 April 1933, Page 8

RAILWAY ECONOMY

£5,586,000 EFFECTED IN' BRITAIN

-MEETING THE DEPRESSION,

Viscount Churchill, addressing the annual general meeting of the 'Great Western' Railway Coirnwny in London recently, said its free 'arid ear-mh'rked reserves still amounted to ’ about . £23,750,000, and represented slightly ; more than 10 per cent, of the capital 1 expenditure of the company. “The decision of the hoard to re- : commend a dividend of 3 per cent, on -he consolidated ordinary stock was arrived at only after a careful review of the whole position;” he said, “arid it was not governed primarily by the desirability of maintaining the fall trustee status of the prior stocks, as has been suggested' in some quarters. “Before th.© close of the past year the total of the general reserve and contingency funds was £3,400,000. Those are free reserves, built rip for use iu abnormal time's for supplement'll g dividends on the ordinary stock, among other purposes. “The board felt it would net be right to withhold from the stockholders the benefit', of these free reserves in this period of widespread stringency., The board is satisfied that despite the withdrawal of £1,100,000 from the free reserves, t.m financial position of the company remains very strong.” While th° gross receipts li?d declined hv £7,617,000' in the past five years, , this lo's had been ofF-et bv reduotio'-r in cxpendit'u'e of £5.586.000, or 65 per cent, of the total loss in gross

receipts. Lord Church ill snkl that in ’ nio’-e than o”o direction he coi'H s’o-us of returning confidence in industry and improvement ip trade.