Annual General Meeting

Unilever

THE annual general meeting of Uni lever Ltd. —the great international soap and margarine combine which vir tually controls the world’s copra price— was held in London in May.

The chairman, Mr. S. D’Arcy Cooper, said that the sharp reaction in the prices of oils and oil seeds in early 1935 was due to world shortage following the disastrous drought in the United States and parts of the Eastern Hemisphere which seriously affected the production of oil seeds, and, amongst others, ground nuts.

The higher cost of raw material would not be seriously felt on soap, but the position as regards margarine would be different, as the price of butter and lard represents a maximum beyond which margarine cannot well be advanced. The butter imports into the United Kingdom had been steadily increasing since 1927 and the quantity imported in 1934 showed an expansion of 72 per cent, over 1927 The margarine turnover had not suffered to the same extent as the sale of butter had increased. The combined consump tion of butter and margarine per head of population in the United Kingdom amounted to 33.3 lbs. in 1934 as against 29.9 lbs. in 1928.

Compared with 1933, Unilever’s total sales of margarine and edible fats in all countries decreased by only 1½ per cent.

The total sales of cattle cake and cattle food by Unilever companies amounted to approximately 1¾ millions —an increase of almost 4 per cent, over 1933. The com bined turnover of soap of the entire

Unilever organisation amounted to 3¾ millions —an increase of 3.5 per cent, over 1933, which itself was a record year. The average profits for the two companies worked out at 9½ per cent, as against 8.9 per cent, for the corresponding period last year. Of this amount, the dividend distributed on the ordinary shares worked out at about 4.8 per cent., so that 4.7 per cent, is retained in the business.