The fourteenth annual general meeting of the Perak Sugar Cultivation Company, LA., was held on Tuestay, 7th November at the offices of the Company, No. 22, Kin Road. The Chair was taken by Mr. W. V. Drummond, and there were also present Messrs. W. D. Little, and F. Anderson, Directors; and Messrs. J. M. Youn, W. Burkill, J. Buchanan, 4. SP. Wh Cooper, W. B. Jamieson, A. E. Jon U. Smith, E. Hey, and Leonard Kerr (Secretary), representing 1,157 shares.
The Chairman—The Report which been for some days in the shareholder: hands may, I presume, he taken as read. The period dealt with coincides with that of the Report presented last year, thus affording an opportunity for comparison between the two. While working expenditure shows a slight increase of about 3 per cent, the output of sugar exceeds by 14 per cent and the total revenue by 20 per cent, last year's figures, so that, a matter of fact, we have been able to work more cheaply than before. The area cropped has been larger than any in the previous history of the Company and it will be gratifying to shareholders to know that the return of sugar per acre on the Company's estate has this year been larger than that of any other estate in the Peninsula. This fact. speaks well for the care and attention on the part of the Company's manager and his staff, and the work accomplished by the factory without any serious hitch throughout the season fully justifies the expense which has been incurred during the last few years in increasing the power of the plant. and in patting it into good working condition, The only work of importance durin the year has been the erection of a new chimney, to which reference is made in the report. It is constructed of iron plates and lined with firebricks to the height of 25 feet. Besides being considerably cheaper then a brick chimney it has the further advantage of being much lighter, thas lessening the danger feom sinking foundations, to which " heavy building is liable in the kind of soil with which we have to deal. The new chimney is 50 feet higher than the old one and the improved draught resulting therefrom has already effected a great saving in the expenditure for firewood. At the same time is possible to supply the factory with sufficient steam and have always one boilve not working, thus giving an opportanity for regular overhaul and cleaning. Of the various working accounts it will be noticed that Launch Expenses" have been unusually heavy. This ix due to the extensive repairs which were found to be necessary when the launch was docked for its annual overhaul. Exchange Account" is an unusually large item, compared with previous years, which is' accounted for the fact that funds which were previously employed in liquidating the Company's outstanding accounts and in paying for new machinery have this year been remitted to Shanghai at varying Fates of exchange, while the accounts with the agents are kept at a fixed rate. "Interest" is the only other item which differs Inrgely from previous accounts, and it will he noted with satisfaction that it differs in the right direction. It may reasonably be hoped that next year this item will appear on the credit side of working account. With regard to the New Concession it will be remembered that at the last annual meeting the shareholders confirmed the sale of an outlying block of about 1,850 acres, and mention was made of schemes, which the Directors then hoped to be able to shortly submit to the shareholders, for the development of the remaining portion of the property. Such a scheme, whatever form it might take, would necessitate the raising of new capital, and the Directors decided that it would be better to postpone any action in the niatter until it was known what. the results of the season's working would be. The Directors are now preparing a scheme which, in the absence of some further details, they regret. they are unable to place before you to-day, but which will be inde the subject of a special meeting of shareholders at an early date. In the meantime the work of cresting jungle and opening up the land is being proceeded with in an inexpensive way. A short history of the New Concession, as it is called, may perhaps be interesting to shareholders. A Concession of 5,600 acres was in 1894 offered to this Company and the Directors agreed to take it over for: the sum of 1,000. The land was reported as being excellent for sugar cultivation, It adjoined the Company's estate and was situated on the banks of the Gula-Kalumponz Canal, the rights over which the Directors were anxious to require, as being a means of supplying the estate with fresh water from the Kurau river, 'The acquisition of the property also secured the company against the formation of rival estate, situated on its borders, which might seriously complicate the' estate inbour question. Between 1894 and the present time " sum of slightly over is. 12,000 has been spent in quit rents, survey foes, clearing jungle and opening up the land, and against this outlay we have received Tls. 7,300 ($10,000) for about }rd_of the property—an outlying black on which nothing Ind been spent and which the company would not have been able to utilise for several years, if ut all, As you will see from the accounts the sum of Tls. 4,828-89 now stands as an asset in the balance sheet, representing property of about 3,500 acres, of which about 800 acres have been cleared of jungle, 28 nores have been planted with canes, 21,000 feet of drainage, navigation and boundary canals, and over 10,000 feet of drains have been dug. A sail bungalow for a foreign overseer, nnd buildings sufficient for the accommodation of 250 coolies have been erected. An area of about 100 acres is reserved for the cultivation of rubber—a little more than 2 nores being already planted with Rubber trees, The outlay on this experiment is trifling and spread over a period of six years, during which the trees are unproductive. "By the end of six years expenditure practically ceases and the trees should begin to bear, providing in the first year " revenue which should more than reimburse all previous outlay, and which will increase thereafter year by yenr. This kind of rubber has alrendy been planted with some success in the Straits, the product finds a ready market and the uses to which rubber is put are increasing every year, and appear likely to go on increasing. The Directors have every reason for believing that this venture will give very profitable results in the future. It is customary on this occasion to say a few words as to the prospects of the company for the coming your. As you will see from the report, we have again slightly increased the area under cane. The latest reports from the estate are that the cultivation has never looked better at this time of year than it does at present, the weather during the last few months having been very favourable to: the young canes. In an agricultural enterprise Buch as this it is of course impossible to foresee whut the result of the: next. nine or ten months' work may be, but, en ordinary conditions of. weather, there is no. reason why our output for the season just commencing should not be at least as large as that of the season just closed,- and you will notice that the Whole crop. has been sold -under forward
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.