COMPANY MEETING
ASSOCIATED BRITISH PICTURE CORPORATION
ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL YEAR
THE twelfth ordinary general meeting of the Associated British Picture Corporation, Limited, was held on August 9th in London.
Mr. John Maxwell (chairman and managing director) said that the directors recommended this year a further transfer to general reserve of L250,000, bringing the total up to £2,875,000, and this represented nearly one and a half times the ordinary share capital. Shareholders would agree that this showed a position of quite considerable strength. All departments of the business had func- tioned successfully during the year. The available total of profit was £912,086. An interim dividend of ro per cent, actual, less tax, on the ordinary shares was paid in January and it was pro- posed that a final dividend of to per cent, actual, less tax, be paid on the ordinary shares. In the view of the Board, the Corporation had had a further really successful year and it was to be noted that the trading profit had shown a substantial increase in each of the past six years.
As to the current year, he was glad to state that the results of this year, so far as it had gone, again showed improvement. Short of the complete upheaval which none of them desired and, perhaps, not many of them expected, there was every likelihood of the Corporation's trading results next year being again as satisfactory as those now before them.
In the consolidated statement the combined assets now repre- sented a total of nearly £18,000,000, with reserves and undistri- buted profit balances amounting to approximately L4,000,000, as against the share capital of a000,000.
The relations of the trade, as a whole, with the Government and with local government bodies with whom it was in close and constant contact, remained excellent and he thought he could perceive today a greater understanding of the needs and problems of that important industry than had existed at any time in the past. He need hardly say that he welcomed this, and had no doubt that it would continue and grow stronger.
He also welcomed some evidence of revival in the British film production business. The slump through which it had come was, as he thought they might remember he remarked at the time, foreseeable, and it had not affected the fortunes of their Corporation, but it would, in his view, be regrettable that the financial world should take the view that an illness arising from feverish and unhealthy conditions of three or four years ago, still existed.
The report and accounts were unanimously adopted.
Previous page
