COMPANY MEETING
McDOUGALLS TRUST LIMITED
A SATISFACTORY YEAR
THE fourth annual general meeting of McDougalls Trust, Limited, was held on July 28th at Thames House, E.G.
Mr. Kenneth A. E. Moore (the Chairman), in the course of his speech, said : The trading profit of - McDougalls, Limited—the operating company—for the year ended March 3ist, 5937, amounted to £260,340 as compared with £208,044 in the previous year, and as compared with average profits of £160,842 disclosed in the prospec- tus issued in 5933.
During the past year the wheat market has been subject to violent fluctuations, and we have had no alternative but to adjust our selling prices both upwards and downwards from time to time during the period. McDougalls Self Raising Flour is retailed as a proprietary article principally in bags of from 1 to 3 lbs.r in weight, and so far as possible we avoid alterations in our selling prices because, apart from any other aspect of the matter; the currency of this country does not lend itself to fine adjustments in the retail price of such small units. We would much prefer stability of wheat prices on a moderate level rather. than the wide fluctuations that have been experienced in recent times.
We- continue, of course, to meet with considerable competition, but in this connexion we believe that one of the keys to the success of our business is that the whole of our efforts are concentrated upon the manufacture and sale of one article—McDougalls Self Raising Flour. By intense specialisation we are able to mill exactly the right type of flour, to pack it effioiently and economically, and thus to sell to the distributive trades a proprietary article of unvarying and highest quality at a fair price.
We adopt a policy of specialisation. We could wish that some of the larger retail grocery organisations would equally follow, as in the past, a similar policy by confining themselves to their primary function of distributing as distinct from manufacturing. We believe that such a policy would be to their benefit as well as ours.
Turning now to the accounts of McDougalls Trust, Limited, the net revenue for the year amounted to £205,955. After provision for income tax and preference dividends and setting aside 450,000 as a reserve against our trustee investments, the-balance available enables the directors to recommend the payment on the ordinary shares of a final dividend of 4 per cent. and a bonus of 2 per cent., making a total of so per cent. for the year.
The report was unanimously adopted.
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