By Morris

Record Profit Made

Hedstrom Ltd.

THE 41st annual meeting of Morris Hedstrom Ltd., held in Suva, at the end of June, was overshadowed by the death of Sir Maynard Hedstrom, head of the big company, which had occurred only three weeks earlier. The act ing chairman, Mr. H. E. Snell, said this:— “Sir Maynard Hedstrom can be regarded as the principal founder of the company and as its prin

cipal executive officer until the last few years of his life. He was a man of many interests, but aiways he put first the claims of the company he had founded. He devoted to tnat company over a very long period the best of his energy—ana he was a very energetic man—and the best of his ability—and he was a very able man. To him is due a very large part indeed of the success the company has had in multiplying perhaps twenty-fold its assets and its revenue over the last 40 years.”

Morris Hedstrom, Ltd., with head quarters in Suva and branches all over Fiji, Samoa and Tonga, and a oranch in Sydney, ana interests throughout the South Seas, now has assets valued at £2 millions Fijian (which is £2i millions Aus tralian). Only half of that huge sum is actually used in the busi ness. No less than £804,000 is in cash and securities —£367,000 is shown as cash in hand or in the banks.

The subscribed capital is £739,613; there is an almost exactly similar sum in reserves; there was £303,000 in the P& L Appropriations Ac count when the balance was taken; and in the year ended March 31, the comoany made a record profit of £100,669. It paid its usual 10 per cent dividend.

The directors appear to be eager to extend the operations of the company, so as to employ their big and efficient organisation and their plentiful capital; but there are limited opportunities in the Terri tories in which they trade, and those are further limited by the fact that the company—like most other big employers today—cannot get all the competent staff it needs.

The acting chairman, in his ad dress, made a significant reference to building operations: “During the year the new stare building at Apia has been com pleted and is now in use. It is an excellent building. The cost today of building is, of course, very heavy, and it seems doubtful whether the revenue-earning powers of new buildings can be proportionate to that cost. On the other hand, in many places the buildings at pre sent operated by the company are very old and incapable of much longer use. Therefore, new building must continue. But under these cir cumstances the directors have thought it wise, in case of proper ties built or acquired since 1939, to allow substantial depreciation in the accounts.”

The directors are: Messrs. H. E.

Snell (managing), R. Crompton, KC, B. H. Marks, R. A. Crompton, J. Dowling, and J. M. Hedstrom.

A son was born to Mr, and Mrs.

Kevin McNamara of New Guinea Goldfields Ltd., Wau, at the local hospital on July 10.