EGMONT BOX COMPANY.

Taranaki Daily News, 17 August 1921, Page 7

EGMONT BOX COMPANY.

ANNUAL REPORT. The annual report of the E'gmont Box Company, Ltd., states:—Your directors have to state that the year has proved a most difficult one to manage the affairs of the company satisfactorily. A strike of the employees at Ohutu early in December, shut tfbwn the mill and factory there for a period of five weeks, causing considerable disorganisation and expense, necessitating the purchase of large quantities of white pine. This unfortunate incident, and the fact that the bush was being cleaned up, always, an expensive undertaking, and resulting in a low yield of logs, rendered the cost of cutting exceptionally high, and the output low. At Eltham the factory was taxed to the extreme limit to supply tire sudden demand made for butter boxes, occasioned by several cheese factories changing over to butter making in the middle of the season. Fortunately, stocks of pine on ,hand were sufficient to enable all requirements to be filled promptly, ( but at a high cost, owing to the long hours that had to be worked, at heavy overtime, rates, to tope' with the rush. Nevertheless, the deficit aa itlsclosed in the profit and loss account is entirely caused by the necessary cleaning up pf the wasting assets at Ohutu, wnten are now written off. During the year development work at Kakahi and Tahua has been steadily pushed on with, and the new' mill at the latter place is now completed and working. Until sucn time as the company csa economically cut at these two places fufficient white pine for its requirements, it will be necessary, to meet all demands, to make heavy purchases of timber from’ outside sources at a considerable Increase in cost. This season practically all boxes and crates will be manufactured out of bought timber, which made compulsory the further rise in the prices of these commodities, of which you were recently advised. To find the money necessary to accumulate during the winter months sufficient stocks of pine for this season’s requirements, complete the Tongariro purchase, and build the mill and railway at Kakahi, has been an extremely difficult problem to solve in these times of financial stringency. It is hopea, however, that by the end of the present year these difficulties will be overcome. It is with deep regret that your directors record the death of Mr. W. D. Fowdrell, who was for many years a director of the company. An election will be held at the annual meeting to fill this extraordinary vacancy on the board. Tiie balance-sheet showed that maintenance and repairs cost £4786 17s lOd, requisites -£3261 Os 3d, timber royalties' £lOl4 12s lid, depreciation £6355, tramway maintenance £2368 Us Od, wages £34,944 12s 3d, and the total payments were £84,336 2s. The balance brought forward was £1220 8s 7d, sales realised £77,330 3s 4d, and the deficit was £5453 18s sd.