3.
20
Giant Concerns.
The balance sheets just published by two British enterprises
show that the assets of each are well over £100 millions.
The two
In
firms are Imperial Chemical Industries and the Lever group of companies, and the annual reports of both firms are of interest not
only to their respective shareholders, but also to the general public,
because the range of activities covered by these giant concerns is so
wide that the results obtained by them during the year are a good
indication of the general trading conditions of the country.
both cases there was a slight decline in their net profits in 1938,
One of the as compared with 1937, but the fall was unimportant. firms showed a net profit of £7,061,000, compared with £7,511,000
in the previous year, while the other made a net profit of
£12,221,000 in 1938, compared with £12,750,000 in 1937.
In such cases a slight decline in net profits is merely a
reflection of prudent financial administration, since the change
in gross earnings is shown to be negligible. Moreover, higher
amounts are chargeable this year against the gross earnings of most
industrial concerns for air-raid precautions and other special items
of expenditure.
Both the concerns mentioned have again paid a good
rate of dividend: 8 per cent in one case, and 10 per cent in the
other. Since some of the many products of these enterprises are
used in almost every branch of British industry, the results obtained by these companies may fairly be taken as a direct indication of
the satisfactory state of British trade in general.
Page 20Page 21
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.