CLARENCE HATRY’S TRIAL

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1030, 22 July 1930, Page 11

CLARENCE HATRY’S TRIAL

APPALLING AFTERMATH COMPANY LOSES £1,564,000 The “appalling devastation” of the "Hatry cyclone’’ was spoken of at the first annual meeting of the Associated Automatic Machine Corporation, Ltd. —a concern in which Hatry was at one time connected —in London, recently. The report of the directors showed a total loss of £1.564,000. Major R. D. K. Curling, the chairman of the directors, declared;— "When you invested your money- in the shares of this company you little thought the Hatry cyclone would sweep through its assets, but that has happened. The devastation has been appalling, and stopped only just short of taking money from machines out on sites.” Major Curling said they had had. however, a really sound and profitable business in automatics at the back of them, centred in the subsidiaryconcern. the British Automatic Company, Ltd. It was anticipated that the trading profits of the British Automatic, Company would reach £35,000 for the year ending September 30 next, after paying debenture interest. They' would, however, have to reserve their resources for a year or two, and an early dividend could not he expected. “It is idle to pretend that the old board was not both deluded and disillusioned. but it was not alone,” said Sir Archibald Weigall. “Many of the large banks, many* of the oldestestablished financial houses in the city, to say nothing of a considerable number of eminent individuals rightly renowned for their knowledge of cityaffairs, were in the same position. There are things in life where truth is stranger than fiction.”