RIVERDALE DAIRY FACTORY.

Taranaki Daily News, 16 August 1918, Page 7

RIVERDALE DAIRY FACTORY.

! ANXiUAL MEETING. Tho twenty-fourth . annual meeting of the shareholders of tho Riverdale Co-operative Dairy Factory Company, Ltd., was held on Monday. There were about 30 shareholders present, and Mr. J. S. McKay, chairman of directors, presided.

THE REPORT. The yearly report stated, inter alia, as follows: The dry summer and the diversion of a considerable) portion of our milk supply during rebuilding accounts for a very large decrease in the season's output. Since the last bal-ance-sheet proceeds on account of the cheese shipped to Messrs J. and J. Lonsdale prior to the purchase by the Imperial Government, were receievd, enabling a further payment of 2d per lb butter-fat, leaving a balance of £722" ICs Sd- The new factory was completed early in the season, and the very high cost of machinery and plan added very considerably to the cost of fitting up of the building. Your directors therefore thought it wise to allocate- tho balance after further payments had' been made towards paying off the extra cost. This has been done. Although a very Battsiattory price was paid by the; Imperial Government for the past season's; cheese, yet,.owing to the very heavy cost of manufacturing requisites, the extra insurance and cool storage, and the heavy shrinkage owing to the cheese being kept so- long in our own store, the year's surplus is not quite so- large as anticipated. After allowing depreciation of £4OO on the buildings and plant, and £6OO on the new factory, there remaius a surplus of £8930 12s Od for distribution. From this your- directors recommend a dividend- of 0 per cent on the paid-up capital of the company, and a further payment of 3%d for the season, bringing the payments up to 21% d, and the balance to be carried forward. The balanch on store account, after paying the ft per cent rebate- on purchases for the previous season, your directors have placed to a store reserve account. The store has had a very successful year. After taking over the creamery building at a cost of £lB5 4s 7d, and paying interest on the capital used in the business £2OO, there remains a balance of £743 9s 7d. From this your directors recommend a rebate of 10 per cent on. store purchases on the usual conditions. The following statistics were attached to the report, figures in parentheses denoting those for last vear: libs milk, 15,425,621 (17J153.043), decrease 1,727,. 422; total lbs ibutter-fat, 392,634 (653,778), decrease 81,426; lbs creamery butter made, 20,190 (44,450), decrease 24,254; lbs whey butter made 25,928 (29,170), decrease 3248; lbs cheese per lb Ibutterfat, 2.50 (2.03), decrease .07; lbs milk per lb cheese, 10.1 (10il); overrun, 16.2 (14.7), increase 1.5; average test for season, SH (3.81), increase .03; average payment for season, Is %%k (Is lid).

CHAIRMAN'S REMARKS. The chairman, in formally moving the. adoption of the report and balance-sheet said he had to again congratulate the shareholders upon having experienced a successful year, or, to be more correct, part of a year. It was very late when the company commenced operations last season, owing to the rebuilding of the factory, chiefly. Consequently they had lost one of the best months in the year. Their pay-out may not have come up to some of the other factories in the district, but taking everything into consideraton they had a very successful season. The shipping problem had been a somewhat difficult one during the year, and even now the factory had something like 4000 crates in store. The West Coast Refrigerating Co. were making expensive additions to their premises, and th» would relieve the pressure so far as' storage waa concerned. There was every reason to hope that there would soon be a considerable improvement in the shipping. With regard to next year's prices for their produce nothing had yet been decided upon up to the present, although a meeting was held in Ha"Vera a few weeks ago to urge upon the Government the desirableness of coming to some agreement a 9 to the disposal of this year's output. Last year this question was left until rather late, with the result that some factories were in rather an awkward position until the Government made them an advance to tide them over the difficulty. The factories did not want to see a similar position arise this year. Another matter which had occupied the minds of dairymen lately was the question of dried milk. They had heard a great deal slbout dried milk, Ibiit, this topic seemed to bo easing off now. He went on to refer to the high prices being paid by a proprietary concern for dried milk as compared with butter and cheese, and considered that the prices should be on a parity with those received for their butter or cheese. At a meeting held in Hawera recently a committee was appointed to gather all the information possible in the Dominion relating to dried milk, with a view to reporting to a further meeting, If that meeting thought it expedient, a delegation would be sent to the United States to obtain additional information and the 'factories will he asked pro rata if they will pay the expenses of the delegation. The committee waa also looking into the sugar of milk industry, which waa, perhaps, the best proposition, for cheese factories. But he did not think either of these propositions would be Started at the present time, on account of the shortage of coal, which was now difficult to obtain in large quantities- A considerable quantity of coal would fDe required in connection with the manufacture of dried milk and its allied product. When the war was over prices for these particular industries might have dTopood, and the agitaih'on for dried milk might not then-be so strong a« it is today. Ho reviewed the balance-sheet at some length, pointing out -that owing to the high cost'of'labor and materials, etc., the cost, of production had considerably increased, which naturally deerea-sed the yield. In some cases-the cost of material had increased 100 per cent., and there was likely to So a larger increase While the war continued, and for some time afterwards: Although the price for CheSse waS*»t goiiig iip very ntii*!», the Cdst Of mAttitfeetitre waa geihg to be very mMoh ffi|her^ll»n''i't'\*J' l ((ife't.lio present time, The company tod got in a cood stock of • requisite for 9DTI, whHeh w.ts ft go'od thing, cottwdliring the rising market, to-daT. The Salary and wages had increased, dxic to overlapping, through men being •called up for service. This was umvvoirkblo, He'was glad to pay that the store had d'or.e very wtll a?ain. as would be seen, "by the-fai-ance-sh«pt, Haiad wvered-.the.ground

pretty -well, and in conclusion lie hoped the. shareholders would have another successful year. _Mr. A. E. Washer i-cconded the motion, which, after a brief discussion, was carried. THE OMKECTORATE.

Mr. Batten moved that Mr. McKay and Mr. llickey be elected to fill the two vacancies on the Board of Directors.

Mr F. G. Wilieocks, who did not seek re-election, seconded the motion, which was carried unanimously.

GENERAL. A resolution w.is passed approving of the company sharing the cost of the dried milk committee's expenses. Mr H. A. Lennon was re-appointed auditor, at a remuneration of twelve guineas. The chairman's honorarium for the past year wa3 fixed at fifty guinea*

EXTRAORDINARY .MEETING. . At the close of the meeting a special meeting was held to consider a notice of motion by Mr" llickey, "That the articles of the company Ibo amended so that the annual general meeting of the company shali be held on the first Monday in September in each year." A. show of handls wa« asked' for, when the' voting-was: For, 14; against, 13. As the- motion, required a three-xoivrthsi majority the' chairman- declared it lost.

WINTER. SHOW.. Subsequently a deputation,, consisting of Messrs. D. J Goodwin (president) and I* 0. Hooker (secretary) of the Winter Show Company, waited upon the shareholders to secure their practical assistance by .talking up shares in the company.;

There wa3 a long discussion, which resulted in Mr Hidkey moving that the shareholders cannot see their way to take up shares. He said 1 the deputation had put their case veiy well,, but the Riverdale factory, aa a company, was not in a position to take up shares.

A number of the sharencJdera afterwards, as individuate, took up shares.. The feeling of the meeting was that the Refrigerating Company should taike up more shares, but it was explained that the company couldi not d*> so.—Star;