'A considerable reduction in expenses has been made, the total for! the whole year, including director fees, auditors' fees, trustees' fees, re muneration of Messrs, Turner, Stur.' Fock & Brown, our secretaries, and iReneral. charges, amounting 10" only) $27,277.04 against a total for the previous year of $51,889, and for the year before that of $59,520, Apart, {rom reducing expenses {o the utmost possible minimum, your directors have been able to reduce considerably indeblediness to bankers, The policy of iquldating bank indebtedness was commenced when It was foreseen that Gimeult times were ahead, and, this connection, It is. interesting to note that, In the frst two years of the company's existence, indebtedness Under ihis head averaged over Tls. 2,500,000, equivalent to nearly $3,500, O00, "AL the year ending Maren 31, 1934, Indebledness was reduced 10) ust' over. $2,000,000 and at March 31, 1995, to $648,121.26, The amount duc to bankers at the close of the financial year covered by these accounts was amy. $501,77845, showing a further Substantial reduction. This Tiquldation fof bank indebtedness has been, dehleved without selling any single! fecurily oF group of securities at a Tus.
Your directors regret that, for the first time since the company—was formed six years ago, the accounts show a loss, but this is only to be expected when s0 many local com~ ppanles are either not earning divi or not declaring them i} while, ut the same time, we] have to pay cut 9 substantial amount} fof interest on our own debentures, The company's largest holdings are!
the principal land companies, gineering companies, and utility concerns, most of which have either not paid dividends at all or have made Much smaller distributions than for many years past. Having regard to the Mnanelal conditions which have prevailed, one cannot criticise com~ panes either for conserving their ash resources or refraining from borrowing from banks at high rates of] Interest for the purpose of dividend payments. This policy, although it has s0 unfortunate a reaction on the prompt and loss statement of Invest ment trusts, must inevitably sirengthen the position of the companies concerned and eventually be of general benefit,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.