176.
"That the following Articles be inserted immediately after Article No. 121 and be numbered Articles 121a and 1218.
121A.-" Although the Reserve Fund may amount to the sum of One Million Dollars the Directors may nevertheless at their discretion from time to time appropriate a portion, not exceeding ten per cent. of the net income and profits earned by the Company in any one year, to the formation of an additional Re- serve Fund, to be called 'Extra Reserve Fund" 121B. The monies standing at the credit of the Extra Reserve Fund may be applicable for the equalization of divid. ends, and such monies, or some portion thereof, may whenever the Directors shall think fit, be appropriated towards the equalization of dividends." Mr. CRAWFORD-Will the action of the
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
BALANCE SHEET, FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31ST DECEMBER, 1897. LIABILITIES.
Capital account 30,000 shares of $10 each Debentures 200 of $1,000 each Fund for equalization of dividends Unclaimed dividends Fixed loans Sundry creditors Profit and losi
ASSETS.
Amount invested in property....... Amount invested on mortgage Amount invested in public companies (250 shares of the Hongkong and Whampoa Dock Co.)
Rents due and accounts receivable... Office furniture..
Cash in H'kong & S'hai Bank $13,918.24 07.12
Directors have to be confirmed by the share- Cash in hanḍ
holders ?
The CHAIRMAN-Yes, that is the usual
course.
Mr. THURBURN-I beg to propose an am- endment, and that is that the words, not exceeding ten per cent." be omitted. The reasons for that are that I think the present reserve of a million is not available for the purpose of equalizing dividends, and if it was I do not think it would be advisable to use it for that purpose. I think all investors will agree with me in thinking that a reserve for equaliz. ing dividends is most important. It is much more satisfactory to feel sure that in spite of bad years, which are certain to come sooner or later, your dividend will not be reduced below a certain sum which you can count on, say at present $6 a share, than to have high dividends for a time, and then, perhaps, following two bad years running, reduced to almost no- thing as both our Fire Insurance Com- panies here have had experience of within very recent years. No one knows when the bad years will come. I hope not for a long time, but the quicker the reserve is ac- cumulated the better, and there is no time like the present for doing that, while rates are favourable. Personally, I should like to see it amount to a good rouud sum before paying higher dividends, but that of course will be left to the discretion of the Directors. The object of my amendment is to enable them to increase the fund at their discretion by any amount they please,
|
PROFIT AND Loss Account, Dr.
To general charges, Crown reu', fire in-
surance....
To repairs...... To interest
To governing directors and auditor's fees and allowance for clerks and office rent To dividend of 6 per cent. on $300,000.. To balance to new account
Cr.
By amount carried forward from 1896 By rents By commissions and profits on investments By transfer fees
$ C. 300,00 1.00 200,000.00 25,000.00 227.07 63,242.38 3,518.19
13,9-5.30
$610,922.32
C.
[March 5, 1898.
during the last twenty years has been so great that enterprising engineers now discard their old tools-although not worn out-to make room for the latest and best; and this policy we would recommend should be gradually followed, as we are convinced it is only by so doing we can hope to continue to earn good dividends. We trust you will also approve 18,934.68 of our taking advantage of a good year to write more than usual from both plant and $610,922.32 property account. In addition to that we ex- pended $1,500, in reconstructing the smith's $ c. shop, raising the roof 9 feet and the floor 2 feet, 464,972.73 and in rebuilding anew the whole of the 15,437.50 | hearths, the whole cost of which ig included in the working expenses, The bad debts written off are made up of an account we 105,000.00 | have against a gentleman in Manils, who 8,314.23 lately got into trouble there, and had his pro- 1,212.50perty confiscated, and of an old claim of some years' standing against an agent at home for defective material supplied us, and as both are extremely doubtful assets, we think it prudent to write them off. We also trust you will approve of our adding to the reserve fund, and in carrying forward a good sum in view of $
further improving the place; and now that we are more in funds it is our intention to have 3,702.60 London bills for material drawn on us at 30 1,004.04 instead of 90 days'; thus saving interest. 9,300.15 Another item of increased expenditure
is caused by the change from Consulting Com 3,100.00 mittee's to Director's fees, but we hope you will 18,000.00 in this case consider the labourers worthy of 934.68 their hire. The profit this year is unusually large. This to a certain extent is accounted $38,541.47 for by the large amount of work in progress at
$ с
the end of 1896, the profit on which, to be on 519.29
the safe side, we estimated at a low figure; but 25,078.19 10,849,9)
on the completion of that work we had made a larger profit than we had allowed for, which consequently now goes to swell that $36,541.47 of 1897. Of course, we hardly expect to have always as profitable a run of work as these accounts show, but we have every reason to be hopeful of the future. With the exception of two months during the summer we were full of work during the whole year and at the slack time Mr. Winterburn took the opportunity of one of the steamers we built going to Manila, to pay that place a visit, with We continue to the most satisfactory results. be fully employed, and although at the moment we have no large contracts to begin, our pro- spects in general work are quite as good as they were at this time last year. I may also tell you that owing to the unusually high price of teakwood at the present time it is extremely difficult to get enquirers to place orders for steamers. I do not think I need say anything further, but before proposing the adoption of the accounts, I will be glad to answer any questions in connection with them.
94.00
GEO. FENWICK & CO., LIMITED,
The annual meeting of the shareholders of Geo. Fenwick & Co., Limited, was held at the Hongkong Hotel on 28th Feb. There were pre- sent Messrs. W. Parlane (Chairman), A. Rodger (Director), W. G. Winterbarn (General Manager). R. C. Wilcox, F. Henderson, W. S. Bailey, J. Rodger, T. Arnold, G. C. Cox, and H. Hyndman, Jr.
The CHAIRMAN said-Gentlemen, it gives your Directors and Geueral Manager mach Mr Ross-I have much pleasure in second-pleasure to meet you with what they hope you ing that amendment. I think it would be much better if the question were left from year to year to the discretion of the Directors, instead of rigidly fixing it by the Articles of Associa. tion.
The amendment was carried nem, con, The CHAIRMAN proposed, and Mr. MAITLAND seconded, that the alteration to the Articles of Association as amended by the deletion of the words. "not exceeding ten per cent," be adopted.
Carried.
This was all the business.
HUMPHREYS ESTATE AND FIN- ANCE CO., LIMITED.
The following is the report of the governing directors for the year ending the 31st Decem- ber, 1897, for presentation to the shareholders at the twelfth ordinary annual general meeting of the Company, to be held at the Registered Offices of the Company, 38 and 40, Queen's Road Central, at noon on Saturday, 5th March :- To the shareholders of Humphreys Estate and
Finance Company, Limited. Gentlemen,-We beg to lay before you our report and balance sheet for the year ending 31st December, 1897.
The net profit for that period, including $519.29 brought forward from last account, amounts to $18,934.68, out of which we propose to pay a dividend of 6 per cent. for the year and carry forward $934-68 to the credit of new profit and loss account.
The accounts have been audited by Mr. Full- arton, Henderson, who offers himself for re- election.
JOHN D. HUMPHREYS & SON, Governing Directors. Hongkong, 24th February, 1898.
No questions were asked, and the Chairman moved the adoption of the report and accounts. Mr. WILCOX-I have much pleasure in
any future contingency. With these remarks I have much pleasure in seconding the adoption of the report and accounts.
will consider a most satisfactory balance-sheet and report for the year 1897, and which I trust you will allow me to consider as read. The first thing noticeable is, I think, the much earlier date at which we have been enabled to present you with the accounts, thanks princip. ally to the energy of Mr. Hyndman, our book- keeper. You will be pleased to see from the report that we have succeeded in disposing of the Kowloon property, and I would like to ex-seconding the adoption of the report and accounts. plain that although the profit and loss account I think we are all agreed that the report before shows a profit of $8,500 on its sale we did not us is a very satisfactory one, and that the re- really net that profit, as over $3,000 expended marks of the Chairman, throwing a good deal of over it during 1896 was debited to that year's light on the working, are equally satisfactory. account. The expenses in connection with it I think we all approve very much of the policy in 1897 were small and consisted almost wholly of improving the property and plant out of of six months' crown rent, which is included earnings. We have no very large reserve fund, in the crown rent and taxes of the present pro-aud it may be as well to keep that intact against fit and loss account, On the whole transaction we made a net profit, not allowing for interest, of between $4,000 and $5,000. The gross earn- ings in 1897 were smaller than in 1896, but they are, we think, highly satisfactory, and we mast expect variations in it. The main thing is to see the work we do is profitable. The cost of labour, material, and working expenses is much less in proportion to the gross earnings than was the case in 1896. This is partly ac counted for by the fact that we expended no material on some of the largest and most pro- fitable jobs we had. At our last annual meet- ing I mentioned that we intended to renew and extend our plant, and you will notice have expended about $6,000 in this way. For this we have made a dynamo, which now lights up the fitting and turning shop, and have acquired some modern labour-saving tools and other plant which enables us to turn out a superior class of work at a lower cost than was formerly possible. And I may tell you that the improvement in machine tools
We
Carried.
On the motion of Mr. BAILEY, seconded by Mr. J. RODGER, Mr. Parlane, the retiring director, was re-elected.
On the motion of Mr. HENDERSON, seconded by Mr. A. RODGER, Mr. Arnold was re-elected
anditor.
The CHAIRMAN.-That concludes the business. I thank you for your attendance. The dividend warrants will be posted this afternoon.
A telegram has been received by the Nippon Yusen Kaisha from its agency at Seattle, says the Japan Herald, stating that the Company's steamer Riojun-maru come into collision with a foreign steamer while lying at anchor in the harbour, and received some damage to her bow. The Riojun arrived at Seattle on the 8th inst., and was to have left on the 15th February.