Pacific Commerce and Produce

[?]P , CSR to Make New Issues

ivo of the biggest Islands Danies, Burns Philp and Co.

and Colonial Sugar Refining

Ltd. in April announced osals for new share issues. will make a l-for-5 bonus ssue. CSR has a double-barrel to split its unwieldy £2O shares £1 units and then make a cash issue to shareholders at a ium of 50 per cent, cause public company regula in NSW now require the pub an of consolidated accounts, BP be first time will this year make n its total assets and group ng strength. Last year, the -man Mr. James Burns, indica that this would be a big and :ate job for the BP empire that the annual accounts, usually d in May, would be delayed for al months. ice then, the close examination s assets and the holdings of its ;rous subsidiaries (there are 25 known off-shoot corn 's) clearly showed the board in idge St., Sydney, that there was for a revaluation of assets, ils of the write-up have not been jsed, but against it will be set issue of 1,200,000 £1 ordinary ;s in the ratio of l-for-5 held ctober 31 next. * have made four previous is issues—l-for-5 in 1959, 1-for -1958, 2-for-21 in 1918, and 1in 1911. The present one will paid capital from £6,000,000 to 30,000. The new shares will for dividend to be declared [ay, 1963. le company announced its final lend for the year ended March 1962, as a steady five per cent., ble May 30, making 10 per cent, the full year (which has been over the previous nine years), i BP shares at a market price of nd 94/6, the yield is about 2h cent. (lowing the news of the bonus issue, interesting disclosures have been ; in the Sydney Press concerning the r holders of BP shares. Biggest eholder (10 per cent.) Is Burns pth and Co. Ltd., a family company ed by Sir James Burns and his

partner, general manager and fellow Scotsman, Adam Forsyth. All the directors are substantial shareholders, too.

The Presbyterian Church Property Trust, the main endowment of the Burnside Home for Children given by Sir James Burns years ago and helped along since then by further gifts from the Burns family, holds 78,600 shares.

Almost as big as the Presbyterian holding is that of a P & O Steam Navigation Co. subsidiary, British India Steam Navigation Co. Until recently BISN’s chairman, Sir William Crawford Currie, was a BP director.

Bums Philp’s chief competitor, W. R.

Carpenter and Co. Ltd., through its holding company and its subsidiary Southern Pacific Insurance Co. Ltd., held 118,400 BP shares, according to WRC’s last annual company return. In addition, members of the Carpenter family have large personal holdings.

Csr’S Debenture Commitments

In its first cash issue to shareholders in 12 years, Colonial Sugar Refining Co.

Ltd., after subdividing the £2O shares in £ 1 units, will increase its capital by l-for-7 £1 shares held on July 31, at a 10/- premium. Payment of the 30/a share will be in two parts—on October 31 next, 15/- (10/- capital, 5/- premium): and April 1, 1963, 15/- (10/- capital, 5/- premium).

Directors said the new issue follows a review of the company’s capital require ments, in view of the fact that £7,000,000 five per cent, debenture stock is due for repayment over the next 18 months. Some £4,000,000 is payable on September 30 next, and £3,000,000 on September 30, 1963.

The new issue will raise £4,535,575 (£1,511,858 by the premium), thus tak ing care of this year’s debenture com mitment. To meet next year’s redemp tion, directors “will consider further the extent to which existing debentures will be replaced by new debentures or other borrowings, and the manner in which this may be done”, said the announcement.

Directors expect to continue the present nine per cent, dividend rate on the enlarged capital. The new shares will rank for dividend from October 1, on the capital called up, and thus will participate in CSR’s interim dividend payable next December.

Present paid-up capital is £21,166,020 in £2O ordinary shares: after the new issue capital will be £24,189,737 in £1 shares. At the time of the announce ment, CSR £2O shares were quoted on Sydney Stock Exchange at £54/10/-; thus the value of £1 units would be 54/6.

Former BGD Manager

Joins PI Mines Board

Mr. Lars Bergstrand, formerly general manager of Bulolo Gold Dredging Ltd., has joined the board of Pacific Island

Mines Limited. He takes the place of Mr. K. H. Waterhouse, a director of the company since its inception in 1957, who has now resigned.

Taking his degrees in engineering in Sweden, Mr. Bergstrand in 1926 went to USA, then in 1931 joined BGD, New Guinea, and set up its dredges and other mining equipment. During the Jap. invasion he had to supervise the destruction of about £1,500,000 worth of NG miming plant to prevent its falling into enemy hands. He returned to Bulolo in 1944 and had the plant back in opera tion three years later.

Pacific Island Mines Ltd. has recently completed exploratory work ooi its leases at Misima Island, off the south-eastern coast of Papua. It is now planning an intensification of its mining operations.

Profit Well Down, Dylup

Plantations Cut Dividend

Dylup Plantations Ltd., New Guinea, suffered a steep fall in profit for the year ended January 31 and has cut its divi dend from 20 to 14 per cent. Profit dropped from £49,904 to £30,482 and is insufficient to cover dividend require ments.

Result is after £3,223 tax (down £5.922) and £11,121 depreciation (down £2,455). Copra price adjustments of £11,265 (last year unstated) are included in latest profit; corresponding adjust ments to be shown in current year’s ac counts are estimated at £lO,OOO.

Plantation development expenditure was £ 18,804 and cocoa plantation rehabilita tion expenditure was £7.532—a total of £26,336, an allowable tax deduction.

Production of copra and cocoa was slightly in excess of the previous year, although some cocoa trees on the com pany’s plantation properties, along with

Mr. Lars Bergstrand.

other plantations in the territory, were affected by “die back” (a wilt disease that attacks healthy growing tissue).

Palgrave Increases Interim

Dividend Despite Loss

Owners of an assortment of assets, including Korfena Plantation in Eastern Highlands, New Guinea, which it describes as “the largest and best coffee plantation in the Territory”, Palgrave Corporation Ltd., Sydney, had a dis appointing six months to December 31 last. In spite of a loss, however, interim dividend of five per cent, will be paid from accumulated profits.

Last year, the company earned con solidated net profit of £81,965, and the interim dividend was four per cent., with a final five. Profit was equal to 12.3 per cent, on capital employed—up from 2.79 in 1956.

At June 30 last reserves and accumula ted profits stood at £213,179. The interim dividend will take £43,837.

Issued capital is £876,745.

In addition to its NG coffee planta tion, Palgrave is reported to have a large interest in one of the smaller Islands trading firms, as well as a string of subsidiaries and shareholdings that give it a footing in such diversified industries as printing, baking and milling machinery, oils and greases, cast iron pipes, and real estate.

Steamships Tr. Co.

to Convert Prefs.

When directors of Steamships Trading Co. Ltd., Papua, rejected a take-over bid by W. R. Carpenter Holdings Ltd. in early April, they indicated that they were considering a reconstruction of the company’s capital and also a split of the £1 shares to 5/- units.

A later announcement stated they are examining proposals for converting the 50,000 fully-paid £ 1 cumulative seven per cent, preference shares to ordinary stock. No mention was made, however, of the terms of the conversion or any likely compensation to ordinary stock holders who have the 1,176,316 issued ordinary £1 shares.

Terms of the WRC offer were 16 ordinary 5/- shares in Carpenter’s for each 10 £ 1 Steamships Trading shares, plus 5/- cash per share. Based on the then ruling rate of 33/- for WRC shares the exchange with 5/- cash was worth around 58/- for each Steamships share (quoted at 40/6 on ’Change). Steam ships’ directors were to remain on the board and continue in their company’s employment. Shareholders were to re ceive the 6V2 per cent, interim dividend payable on May 8, while their WRC allotments would rank for dividend from May 1.

Steamships’ directors stated they con sidered the offer too low and “not reflecting the true worth of the com pany’s shares”. Because the STC direc tors would not recommend the offer.

Carpenter’s withdrew it. They were seeking 51 per cent, acceptance by April The depressed market value of STC

shares during the past few months was only to be expected from the adverse publicity given to the company’s territory (Papua) by the activities of the Indo nesiams in Dutch New Guinea, directors stated.

They said that “they themselves have no immediate fears for Papua’s safety and believe there will be always a place for Australian companies to continue merchandising, planting, shipping and other activities in the Territory”.

Provided present profitability con tinues, directors expect results for the year ending June 30 will be the company’s highest so far.

Sandy Ck. Gold Sluicing

Take-Over Completed

Shareholders of Sandy Creek Gold Sluicing Ltd. (which ceased operations in New Guinea some time ago) at a meeting on April 18 agreed to accept a take-over offer made by Roland Walton and Company, stockbrokers, on behalf of a Sydney syndicate.

The offer was 2y 2 d a share for 75 per cent, of individual shareholdings, after the distribution of proceeds from the sale of the company’s net assets.

The meeting also declared a dividend of £14,880 (payable to those holding shares on April 3) wholly out of NG goldmming profits. The dividend will be satisfied by the issue to shareholders of 59,520 fully paid 5/- shares in Hardware and General Supplies Pty. Ltd., of Brook vale, Sydney.

On April 19, the directors of Sandy Ck. (Messrs. H. G. Hyde, J. W. Hinks, and W. J. MacGregor) retired, and a new board was appointed—namely, Messrs. H.

H. Stitt, L. F. McEachem, and F. N.

McEachern.

The take-over development is of in terest to Papua-New Guinea residents— Mr. Francis Knibbs McEachern and his son, Mr. Leonard Francis McEachern, are known in the Territory in connection with the activities of Harvey Trinder (NSW) Pty. Ltd. and Hamac Holdings Ltd. Mr. Harrie Hamilton Stitt is a Sydney chartered accountant. The three of them comprise the syndicate that has taken over Sandy Ck. Company.

APC's Future Oil

Plans in Papua

Recommended future activities of Aus tralasian Petroleum Co. Pty. Ltd., made after a lengthy and comprehensive study of all the data by De Golyer and MacNaughton Inc., geological consultants to the company, are now being considered and the cost of resuming drilling in Papua is being estimated. This was stated in mid-April by Oil Search Ltd. which now holds some 80 per cent, interest in APC.

De Golyer and MacNaughton’s detailed programmes for APC cover the Fly River - Oriomo and Paibuna areas, and an announcement of APC directors’ decision is expected shortly.

Investigations are still going on by the Burmah-Murphy group into the com mercial possibilities of APC’s gas reserves in Papua.

The reconstruction of Australas Petroleum Co., following the decision British Petroleum Co. and Vacuum Co., to withdraw, is proceeding, and Vacuum (now trading as Mobil Australia) have transferred 20.87 J fully paid £1 shares to Oil Search L