1921, as you are all aware, has been the most disastrous year in the history of the rubber planting industry, and it is a matter of keen pleasure to your directors to be able to come before you with accounts that in spite of all handicaps show a material profit.
The amount of rubber harvested was 752,364 lb. or 33 per cent. less than the 1920 output, and the average profit per Jb. was only one farthing as compared with nearly six pence last year. On the other hand, I must point out to you that in spite of this enormous reduction in the output, which naturally has had the effect of increasing the cost per Ib. of all the overhead expenditure, the F.0.B. cost was only eight pence per Ib. against 7.03 pence in 1920. Every effort is being made to reduce the cost of production, and I feal sure that when your directors come before you next year a very material reduction will have taken place.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.