Pacific Commerce and Produce

Impressive Strength Of The Burns Philp Empire

The width and the strength of e Bums Philp empire in the )uth Pacific Islands were more an ever apparent in the com

iny’s 76th annual balance-sheet,

id the speech of the chairman

lr. James Burns) at the annual

neral meeting, published in

ay.

ISTABLISHED modestly, over 80 I years ago, by the late Sir James Burns, with a few little trading res and chartered sailing-ships, ;ssrs. Burns Philp & Co. Ltd., *ough scores of big and little apanies and organisations—chiefly Australia and the Islands —has iwn into a huge corporation with ets worth nominally (official ance-sheet) £18,415,000 but worth ually perhaps double that sum.

BP empire now covers not y stores and ships, but also ntations and hotels, insurance I finance companies, cinemas and kyards, mainland chain-stores I factories—in fact, there are few ds in commerce, transport, plant and finance which this organ don has not entered.

Another Big Bonus Issue •wing to its enormous holdings all kinds of property, the cease spiral of inflation has been a rce of real embarrassment to the KJtors in recent years, ecessary revaluations of assets in 7 forced the owners, a year ago, distribute 1,000,000 £1 bonus res (one for four). The chair 1, in an explanation of this gift ch was almost apologetic in tone, icated that it would not soon pen again. ut here again, in 1958, the in ion ogre has forced another re lation of assets upon the board; here again is another distri on of 1,000,000 £1 bonus shares e for five). This will bring the ed capital to £6 millions, with it £9 millions of reserves still king in the business, dis tidying-up process presum ' must go on, while inflation dnues. But no conservative ’d likes it. le net profit for last year, from ;ources, was £B33,9o6—which was

about a quarter-million larger than the previous year’s profit. The dividend remains at 10 per cent, but the carry-forward in the P/L Appropriation Account is increased °y the said quarter-million to ty t)7,700.

Because there are BP establish ments in practically every Islands centre from New Guinea to Samoa, and substantial BP money circulat

mg everywhere in the South Pacific, these point 8 from the chairman’s speech to shareholders have common interest: Since 1948, BP’s have spent over 15 millions on plantation develop ment in Papua and New Guinea, and about £750,000 in recent years on expansion in Fiji, Tonga and Samoa.

Factor in Islands Life

During the past ten years, the company has exported from its own plantations copra worth about £2O millions.

It is becoming increasingly dif ficult to find in Australia and the South Seas suitable young men to staff the various Islands estab lishments. The selection in Scot land of suitable men, and their transportation to the Islands for training in specialised work, were proving successful.

The company was now getting a better return from its ships, as the result of quicker turnaround in the ports. “When ships cost up to £1,500 per day to run, a few days saved here and there make a lot of dif ference.”

The members of the board which handles this huge organisation are Messrs. James Burns, Joseph Mitchell and P. T. W. Black (active executives of the company), F. E.

Loxton, G. R. Rickards, and Sir William Crawford Currie, GBE, who represents important overseas ship ping interests.

Enterprise and

Oil Permits Enterprise of New Guinea Gold and Petroleum Development received advice from the Administrator of Papua and New Guinea In mid-May, that the company’s application to prospect for oil on Permit No. 25 area of the Seplk River would not be granted. The company subsequently lodged an application for Permit 29 areaj which covers an area of approximately

3.600 sq. miles of the Bewain-Paul de pression near Aitape and Vanimo.

The company originally was granted No. 21 permit area in the Upper Sepik area in 1954, but for some reason, this permit was not renewed bv the Adminis tration in mid-1958. In February, 1959, the Administration reversed this decision, provided the company could show that it had sufficient funds to carry out an aerial photographic survey and complete certain gravity traverses.

The company’s report on gold-mining for the four weeks ended May 19. was to the effect that 57 oz of bullion had been recovered from 70 tons of ore crushed and that 31 oz had been recovered from alluvial workings.

Placer Dividend

Placer declared a dividend of 25 Canadian cents per share in May—payable at Sydney office of the company on June 23, at rate of exchange ruling on May 30.

Choiseurs Steady

30 Per Cent.

Choiseul Plantations, Ltd. (one of the Burns Philp group) paid the usual divi dend of 30 per cent, in spite of the fact that profits were slightly down on the previous year.

When accounts were closed at November 30, 1958, the company had not felt the benefit of the boom prices for copra that started late last year and are still con tinuing.

Net profit for the year ending Novem ber 30, 1958, was £84,381 down about £7.000 on the previous year. Replanting reserves received £5,000 more (£20,000); and £2B 598 was allowed for depreciation —about £16,000 more than last year.

A Good Time

To Float a Company

The current copra boom Is making Aus tralian investors look very favourably on

Papua-New Guinea plantation companies— which will remain largely unaffected by income taxation, as the former tax on all copra exported will be removed.

It is expected that Bali Plantations, Ltd., owned bv Harold Coldham who bought the property from the Fxpro-Board in the 20’s, will shortly be floated into a public company. Something like £250.000 is mentioned in regards to this trans action. Bali is located on Unea, one of the Wltu group off New Britain, and is not only a bumper copra producer, but is in a favourable position with regard to labour which is still almost entirely local.

Garua Plantation. In the Talasea area of New Britain which is owned by Mr.

Dyson Hore-Lacy, has been bought by W. R. Carpenter and Co. interests. It was reported towards the end of last year that this property would be floated into a public company. But this did not eventuate.

Not in the plantation business, but rumoured as a new public company is a “chain of hotels in important centres in Papua-New Guinea”.

Still Got Faith in Oil

In spite of disappointing results from Puri’s first deviated hole, and a slump in the price of Oil Search shares, residents of Papua-New Guinea are still confident that payable oil will be struck eventually Australasian Petroleum Company com menced a second deviated hole at Puri in May: and will also shortly start to drill at Bwata, 15 miles north-west of Puri.

Papuan Aoinaioi Company

Case Dismissed

The Papuan Apinaipi Petroleum Co., Ltd., advises that, with the consent of all parties, the suit against the company and its directors, and against Associated Freney Oil Fields, NL. and Associated Australian Oilfields. NL. challenging the validity of the joint agreement between the three companies, was dismissed by the Equity Court of NSW on June 3.

Counsel for the plaintiff announced to the Court that the plaintiff, for himself and those on whose behalf he claimed to sue, desired it to be noted by the Court that, when he instituted those proceedings, he did so upon the basis of what he be lieved to be the joint venture arrangements between the companies. Since the suit was commenced, the plaintiff had learnt much more about the nature of those ar rangements and now believes that those arrangements were entered into by the companies and their directors in the best interests of those companies and of the shareholders generally.

Counsel for the defendants announced to the Court that the companies are satis fied that the plaintiff instituted the pro ceedings under a misapprehension of the joint venture arrangements as they ap peared in the pleadings filed by the de fendants.

As a corollary to the rise, and the con-i sequent boost in Treasury takings, optimists are already forecasting that there will be distinct benefits to industry! (even the total removal of pay-roll tax),j in the up-coming Federal Budget. More conservative souls are adopting a policy, of wait-and-see.

No perceptible effect of the basic wage rise was seen on the Stock ~xchange, which seems to pursue its own course these days to higher and higher peaks— share index for all ordinaries on June 5 was 253.41, in spite of a temporary set back on the overseas wool market.

Sydney Sales Prices

Oil And Mining Shares

Fiji

Papua-New Guinea

Mav 7 June 5 Burns Phllp . . . . 75/- 83/6 Burns Phllp (SS) . . 54/- 57/- £52/7/6 £58/5/ Dylup Plantations . 19/6 27/6 Hackshalls 50/9 51/- Kauri Timber ... 18/6 18/4Vz Ktrema Rubber . . . 11/- 17/- Koltakl 15/- 15/1^2 Lolorua 7/3 9/- Mariboi 6/3 7/6 Norfolk Is. Whaling 3/1 4/1 Queensland Insurance 70/- 73/6 Rubberlands . . . . 5/5 6/3 Sthn. Pac Insurance 17/6 18/9 Steamships Trading . 51/9 54 W. R. Carpenter Hold. 17/1 Vz 18/- Timor Oil 6/3 6/4

July 9. *58 M*v 7 June 5 Emperor . b5/9 s7/3 b7/6 Loloma . - b33/- b34/-

Bulolo . . . b35/b35 s40/- NOG Ltd. bl/9VS» b2/3 Y2 '5 Oil Search b2 6 b6/10 b6/ll Ent. of N O b7d b6d Papuan Apln bad b4/4 s4/3 do. opt b6 >/2d b2/2 b2/l Placer Dev b86/6 b 00 /b08/6 Sandy Creek b4d b2d s6d