South Seas
p. 26 · Read in the full issue
Barometer
Annua! Reports of Burns Philp Companies
r:E annual reports of Messrs. Burns, Philp and Co. Ltd., and Messrs.
Burns, Philp (South Sea) Co. Ltd., were issued during the month, and each shows a steady condition of trade throughout the Pacific Territories. The first company controls the shipping op erations of the Burns Philp group, and all the trading operations in Australia, Papua, and New Guinea. The second company covers the trading operations in the island groups to the eastward — namely, Solomons, New Hebrides, Nor folk Island, Tonga, Fiji, New Zealand, and Samoa.
The following table shows that the profits earned by the companies compare favourably with those of recent years, and that there have been no marked changes in trading conditions: —
One point made by the directors’ re port is that the steadily increasing cost of running vessels has a tendency to re duce net earnings, but the amount of trade handled by the ships was satisfac torily maintained. It is noted that where, in previous years, the major company regularly put £75,000 per annum to re serves, on this occasion it has added only £25,000 to reserves, and has used the re maining £50,000 to create a special war risk insurance fund. A significant sign of the times.
B.P. and B.P. (S.S.) Co. Ltd.
Co. Ltd.
Net profit, 1939 £251,144 £51,233 „ 1938 . . 240.174 65,145 1937 226,067 58.088 Dividend, 1939 10% 6V4% „ 1938 .. .. 10% 6V 4 % „ 1937 . . . . 10% 5.8% Issued capital £1,875,000 £750,000 Total reserves ... 1,813,643 138,979