COMPANY NOTES
CAND WIRELESS (HOLDING9 LTD. have produced excellent preliminal group figures for 1959; gross earnings of £847,, compare with £742,470, from 1958. A final dol: dend of lid. per 5s. unit is declared, making, wit' the three previous quarterly payments of 1,1d, each, a total of 6d. Reserves are to be capitalised by a one-for-five bonus issue and there is also o
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be a rights issue of one for eight at 10s. in 7, ordinary shares. The chairman Sir Edward Wit, shaw's statement to stockholders is always 0: interest; he is sufficiently confident to state ilia' current earnings should provide adequate cove', for the maintenance of the 10 per cent. dividend on the increased capital. The 5s. ordinary units are quoted at 21s. 3d. to yield 3 per cent. and are without doubt a sound and progressive stock to hold.
Co-operative Permanent Building Society, the third largest in the country, has over the past Eels years expanded very rapidly and once again Surpassed its 1958 record in its mortgage ad" vances for 1959, which amounted to no les' than £33,384,000, an increase of £2,119,000 over the previous year. The Society's deposits n0", rank for trustee status and under the governinel" scheme for mortgages on houses completed befog'' 1919 they have lent £3,273,000. The general manager, Mr. Herbert Ashworth, foresees an in' crease in house building this year and therefore anticipates an increased demand for mortgage'; However, the Society is very well placed to 10;1 on mortgages, as last year it attracted more funds for investment than ever before: share and de- posit receipts amounted to £45,866,400, against £42,427,800. The year 1959 was certainly out' standing for the Co-op.,. for in spite of the increased business, reserves have been consider' ably strengthened.
Hastings and Thanet Building Society also made great progress during 1959, total assets having risen from £28,005,000 to £34,952,000, while share and deposit income has increased by £1,174,000. Total -mortgage advances were up by t £3,781,000 over 1958, of which no less than 97.41 per cent. were in respect of owner-occupied houses. The Society, under the chairmanship of Mr. H. V. Wiles, was one of the first to be `designated' under the House Purchase and HouS ing Act, 1959, and, as such, its deposits qualify' for trustee status.
Venner Limited present accounts to July 31, 1959, to cover a trading period of seven months only. The net profit after tax for the period was £56,346, from which it is proposed to pay a divi- dend of 7 per cent. on the capital, as increased last August, which is equivalent to 18 per cent. for a full year. The company's best-known product is parking meters—an order for 1,200 meters has just been placed with them by the Westminster Borough Council. This news has given rise to 1 activity in the company's shares. The chairman, Mr. Gordon H. Gunson, warns shareholders that more attention should be paid to successes al- ready achieved rather than future prospects; even so, the company, whose other interests include silver zinc accumulators, time switches and var- ious electronic instruments, should be able to look forward to an increasing order book and an expansion in profits. The 5s. ordinary shares at 17s. 9d. should prove a good long-term investment.
Northern Dairies. Last week in these notes the dividend was stated to be 7 per cent.; this should have been 7.5 per cent. and the yield 5.59 per cent., or 2.15 per cent. if the 1 per cent. tax-free payment is included.
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