COMPANY NOTES
TELEPHONE RENTALS are well known in factories and business houses for their inter- nal telephone installations and broadcasting !Ystems. The Company is also responsible for the Installation of time clocks and costing recorders. !t recently issued very satisfactory preliminary illttires and a same-again dividend of 124 per ,c111., which is covered approximately three times by earnings. Profits before tax have risen to 25,200 against £770,500 for the previous year, 17iell was in excess of that forecast by the Chair- an. Net profits after tax showed an increase of t6S 000 , at £487,200. A steady record of progress justifies the present price of the 5s. shares at 11s. lo yield nearly 6 per cent. _ London Electric Wire and Smiths have, like %her Companies who use copper as their basic material in the manufacture of their products, .,utiered a reduction in profits by the sharp fall in "le price of the metal. This is reflected in the net ikc'fit figure which, after charging £112,000 in _espect of depreciation on copper stocks to the Zient this was not covered by a provision for tbilisation of commodity prices, has fallen by 54,314; but this still permits the maintenance °f 1 the ,. -2i per cent, ordinary dividend, with a comfortable onliortable earnings margin. The annual general n!cting was held yesterday, by which time these tes had gone to press, so it has not been possible cekillake any comment on Mr. E. L. Wildy the new the statement to stockholders. At 42s. "c 41 ordinary shares yield 5.8 per cent. 1 11"is Pure Drug Company. Boots% shares have hia,.1; nlanY years been valued by the market at a "' ice which considerably discounts the future, but the again the past year's results have fortified 0 en. investment status by another rise in the divi- 1,,nd, namely 2 per cent, to make 18 per cent, for r year. It is now proposed to make a one-for- °41. free scrip issue, which may stimulate market hopes of a further dividend increase. Full ;rkounts are not yet available, but it appears that higher. profits (before tax) are at least £600,000 pier. It is worth noting that a recent revaluation freehold and leasehold properties of the group h°Wed an excess of £10 million over balance- dect figures. On these impressive figures the 5s. dinary shares at 21s. 3d. yield 4.3 per cent. f,. Qritish Thermostat has a long record of success ,,°n1 which shareholders have been well re- ' iarded. This year they are receiving an increase ti'll their dividend of 5 per cent, as announced .by ine recent final dividend of 171 per cent., making all 30 per cent. as against 25 per cent. 31Preliminary figures for the year ending January &i„ 1958, indicate a record, for after providing 4:7,845 (as against £326,215) for tax, profits e,Vc increased from £296,909 to £387,433, an lisicellent achievement. The dividend payment has e'*ays been well protected and this time is ‘s(,)Vered 51 times, while the amount carried for- ward ard has been considerably increased to £672,292. it The company manufactures a wide range of 4;inontatic controls for various industries. The 5s. [hare at 26s. 3d. give a good yield of 5.7 per cent.