The reasons for the surcharges for gas and electricity and for the discontinuance of the rebate for water have been fully discussed during the past year, and details have been been published. Obviously, it would be impossible for the Chairman of Council at a public meeting to enter.|into comparisons between the costs of public utility undertakings in the Settlement and the French Concession, but if such comparisons are required there is information in our possession which may be useful. It is Information from published records which is avail) anyone, and could have beef easily obtained by the speakers had they Bpen seriously in search of facts.
Shanghai Power French Ca.
An analysis of the Shanghai Power Company's results for the past year appeared in "Finance & Commerce" of April 12. We have not yet seen the French Company's report for 1938, but the following translated extracts from their Board of Directors for the year ended December 31, 1997, are to the point:
"The French Concession did not suffer very "much from tne Sino-Japanese hostilities and our company's installations did. not undergo very much damage. The electricity and water service was never interrupted, uy p, the depression in 1594 and 1935 started operating returns. fects y to. improve during tne second half of forresponcing period Pu itis vat E35 was Ch.$191.606. This increase was more in 1637. It reached a figure of Ch.$$98.515. Which increase until nov had never been reached.
"During 1827 the Chinese dollar staved around the official rate fixed in shiiiings by "the Chinese Government, qerens our franc went from 628 16 "The exchange, together with the
marked increase in our profits in franco, increase in Our receipts explains the from 21.143.547.47 in 1996 to 3624128267 in 1997.
"We have placed to profit this large increase to amortize cognpletely certain installations, independently of on; usual Aamortizations. The net profit of 36. 30267 francs allows us to the distribution of a dividend of 75 francs per share instead of 55 francs last year, and to bring forward 4.615475.93 francs instead of 1,302,048.58 francs in 1996."
This shows a very healthy state of affairs for the French Company during a year which proved, in many ways, disastrous for che Power Company. The French Company's electricity customers rose by 4,022 from 34,739 at the end of 1936 to 38,761 at the end of 1937, whilst the Power Company's customers fell by about 22,000 from 78.934 to approximately 57,000. (It was impossible to determine the exact number because a large portion of the Power Company's area was under military control and consumers had fled) The French Companys revenue rose from $4,713,717 to $5,139,300, while the Shanghai Power Company's revenue, in spite of the seven very prosperous months from January to July, 1987, fell from $25,565,731 to. $22,505,877. The French Company's losses through physical damage caused by the hostilities were apparently negligible. The Shanghai Power Compeny's losses to U. S. Crude Oil Production New York, Apr. 26.
The daily average gross crude oil production in the United States for the week ended April 22 totalled 3,527,000 barrels, according to ihe weekly report of the American Petroleum Institute of New York,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.