Burrett.
The Secretary having read the notice convening the meeting, and the auditor's report, The Chairman said:—Gentlemen,—The report and accounts having been in your hands for some da; I will, with your permission, take them as read, The statement of accounts clearly, I think, shows the Snancial position of the Company as at October 31 last, and requires, little or no explanation.
The profit for the year 970,089.90 and including the amount brought forward there is a sum of Tle, 379,343.12 available for allocation. Last year the profit was Tls. 552,278.93—a record in the Company's history—and although this we are unable to show so satisfactory a result, I think we have reason to congratulate ourselves on what has been achieved, having regard to the more or generally adverse conditions of trade which, owing to one cause another, were prevalent during the period of the year's working.
As been intimated in the Report, it is proposed, subject to your approval, to pay a dividend of Tls. 12 per share on the ordinary sharee, and I hope shareholders will be satisfied with that return, Last year a dividend of Tls. 15 was paid on the ordinary shares, but, as was indicated at the time, that year's working result was regarded as extraordinary and it was considered that the maintenance of profits at such a level])o8,0" could in no way be relied upon.
With regard to depreciation of our properties, it is proposed write Tls. 65.000 off plant and machinery and Tis, 18,000 off buildings, as against Tls. 60,000 and Tls, 12,000 respectively last year, the increased provision being due to extensions which have been made during the period we are dealing with.
At last year's annual meeting I dwelt somewhat fully on the question of depreciation, and I reiterate what I then said, which wa: effect that no year should be allow ed to pass without adequate provision in that respect and I trust you fully recognize the necessity for adherence to such policy. There are other small items of depreciation it is recommended be written off, but these do not call for spe cial comment.
Now we come to the proposed bonus to staff of Tls. 4,100, which doubtless will meet with your approval, and I take this opportun-
875 ity of saying that the staff deserve all due praise for the satisfactory manner in which they have carried out their work, and in this connexion I would like to mention our mill superintendent—Mr. Kerfoot—who has untiringly and ungrudgingly laboured to further the interests of the Company.
Next, there is the amount of Tls. 75,000 which it is proposed to transfer to reserve account. If you approve of this transfer, the reserve account, which, you" will recollect, was inaugurated a year will then stand at Tls. 2 0,000, and with the Tls. 500,000 at-credit of equalization of dividends account, our total reserves wilh amount to seven lakhs, On the occasion of our last annual meeting I drew the particular attention of shareholders to the desir ability of adding to our reserves whenever working results permitted, and I now wich to emphasize the point. As I then said, we experience very—keen competition, both locally and from J on, and that being so you will readily understand the larger our reserves the better position we will be in to meet such competition, During the working year our business has varied considerably as far as prices and demand are concerned, but on the whole the marketing of our goods has not been unsatisfactory. In this connexion it may interest you to know that one of our standard qualities of which in July last was selling at Tls. 100 per bale has now dropped to Tis, 81. It is true there has been a heavy fall in the price of cotton, but I may say that the margin of profit we are now making on our productions leaves much During the year we have worked full time and the off-take of China yarn has been surprisingly good. Indeed, consumption of China yarn has, a6 a whole, surpassed all records. We have also experienced ap increasing demand for our cloths and your Consulting Committee are seriously considering the advisability of installing more looms.
As regards China cotton, there has been a sufficient supply, but owing to its short staple, we have been obliged to import considerable quantities of American in order to meet our requirements. While this subject I am pleased to be able to say that steps have been taken by the Cotton Anti-Adulteration Association to start an experimental cotton farm and it is hoped that this may lead to an im-Provement in cotton cultivation methods in this country. The Ca ton Anti-Adulteration Assciation deserves the thanks of all.tkoso-aterested in the cotton: idustey.for their efforts and it is upfprtunate
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.