The ninth annual general meeting of shareholders of the Metropolitan Land, Co., Ltd, was held yesterday morning at No. 17 The Bund. Mr. T. R. Smith presided over a gathering representing 83,004 shares. Supporting the chairman were Sir. Robert Calder-Marshall, xr, Messrs. O. Okamoto, M. Reader-Harris, C. V. Start, Yusen Yeo (Directors) and G. T. Read (Secretary).
The Chairman said: Comparing the Profit & Loss items with those of the previous financial year, our "General Expenses" were reduced by $4,757.45. "Salaries and Wages" were increased by $1,077.21, the difference being due to the exchange rate at which Hongkong dollar expenses were converted into Chinese national currency, The items under these two headings cover the running expenses of our offices in Shanghai and Hongkong, catering for the requirements of our own properties and many other properties managed on behalf of clients. "Interest Paid" shows an increase of $13,938.10, due to Hongkong exchange. "Expenses on Corhpany's Properties" were reduced by $3,640.87, our Eastern District and Northern District properties receiving very little attention during the period. Now that we have access to the areas concerned and the Japanese armed forces havin? evacuated our premises, we are completely rehabilitating all of these properties. The other items in the Profit and Loss Statement, comprising "Depreciation on Company's Furni—'upe, Motor Car, Fixtures, etc." and the "Annual Charge to Buildin; Depreciation Reserve," merely indicate our usual practice of writing down perishable assets and allocating adequate funds to maintain our buildings in first-class condition.
The new item in our accounts under the heading of "War Damage to Company Properties" is made up of $20,000 for the estimated replacement cost of buildings damaged by fire in January, 1938, $4,425.11 for the estimated cost of repairing and renovating the rest of our "War area" properties, and $19,029.97 for writing-off our Macleod Road improvements. There is a possi-that some of these amounts may be recovered, but your Directors consider it preferable to write them oft in full Earnings from "Commissions and Fees" amounted to $32,135.95, being $4,490.00 less than last year. "Rent and Interest Earned" amounted to $317,487.20, a small increase despite the lack of earnings from properties in the Eastern and Northern Districts since' August 1937. those for last year. Since the end of the financial year, both of these items have been greatly reduced through our having taken over a very desirable fully-developed property, and one of our Mortgagors having repaid his loan. "Loan against Securities" was*reduced during the year by $15,500.00. The reserves against "Accrued Interest Receivable", "Outstanding Rents Receivable", and "Sundry Persons" are quite adequate, "Cash in Bank and on Hand" discloses a liquid position, enabling us to meet any and all emergencies,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.