The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1904-07-22
Dapv
History of the Company.


company, which has at present a
capltal stock of $45,9S4,400, divided
unto $lS,000,000 cumulative perferred
STOCK, bearing interest at per cent.
per annum, and $27,9S4,4OO of COM
mon stock, which at present, is paying
no interest, is the outgrowth of a
consolidated chemical business which
was started in Richmond i'm 1895.
BY June Is, 1901, the capital of The
company had teen increased to $24,-
0oO,00O, one-half of which was pre-
ferred stock and one-half common
STOCK; practically all of which had
oeen issued either for property ac-
CURED or for cash. The preferred
STOCK had been sold at not less than
Par. and the company had paid con-
tlnuous quarterly dividends thereon
at the rate of eight per centum per
annum.
Status Three Years Ago.
The balance sheet of the company
on June Is, 1901, showed assets of
$3o,324,555; bills payable, $2,332,OS7;
accounts payable, $115,373, and un-
divided profits, $3.175,09S.
This balance sheet showed further
that the company had earned net
profits amounting to $1,7S3,955, out of
which it had paid $1,199,525 in divi-
dends on it's preferred stock, at eight
per cent, and on the common stock
at four per cent, leaving a balance
of $5S4.430.
Began to Branch Out.
The company then began to branch
out into wider fields, and during the
fiscal ear ending June IA, 1902, ac-
quired additional fertilizer plants i'm
Alabama, North Carolina and Georgia.
giving it plants in thirty places, en-
braced in the territor between Balti-
more, Md; Memphis, Tenn; Mobile,
Ala, and Savannah, Ga, while
through the acquisition of the South
ern Cotton Oil Company, by the pur-
chase of practically all it's stock, for
which the company issued SIS, 9S4,4O0
of it's own common stock, it owned
and operated eighty-one oil mills, re-
fineries and lard plants.
For this year, 1902, the output OF
the company was 10000 tons of fer
tilizers and chemicals of all kinds. and
it's balance sheet showed assets of
$52,60S,936; bills payable, $4,465,3S0:
accounts payable, $361O33, and un-
divided profits of $4,637,S37.
The Last Two Years.
For the fiscal year ending June IA.
1902, the statement shows net earn
ings amounting to $3,4S1, 3S4.39, out
of which were paid $1,S29,649 in div
idends on the preferred and common
stocks, leaving a balance of $1,C51,-
1859.
An issue Of $7,O0O,OOO collateral
trust five per cent. ten-year bonds
was made for the purpose of paying
in full for all the properties acquired,
and also reimbursing the cash work
ing capital for payments heretofore
made on that account. in June !,
1902, the dividend on the common
stock was increased from four per
cent to five per cent. per annum.
This was the best year in the COM
pany's history, the common stock
selling as high as 76 "a and the pre-
ferred stock selling at 1874 is.
The statement Of business for the
next year, ending June IA, 1903,
showed the output of the company at
sS3,634 tons of fertilizers and chemi-
calls of all kinds, and the balance sheet
showed assets SCI ,600,827, of which
the large sum of $27, 1S9,15S and Sill
099,46 were represented by invest
ments in other companies and plants,
mines and lands respectively, and un-
divided profits of $4,665,534.
The net profits of the company, ac
cording to the official statement.
amounted to $2,596,316.86, out of
which were paid $2,56S,620, in divi-
dends on it's preferred and common
stocks and interest on it's bonds,
leaving a balance of only $27696.24.
The smallness of the balance COM
PEELED the company in August, 1903.
to arrange for loan of $6.0OO,OO0 at
a cost to it of nearly eighteen and
one-half per cent. in commissions,
bonus and interest and thereafter
the dividends on the common stock
were passed and have not since been
resumed. It's common stock, which
had sold as high as &C 5-S in Feb
ruary, 1903. sold down as low as
20 1-2 i'm November of the same year.
the preferred stock, which had been
to 12S IL, selling as low as 70 per
share.
Last Issue OF Stock.
In April, 1904, the directors recon-
mended an issue of sS,000,000 of pre-
ferred stock, $6,000,0O0 of which was
to be at once issued, and $4,000, 900.
Of which was to be issued at not ex-
ceeding 100000 per annum hereafter,
which issue was approved and au-
thoriZed by the stockholders on May
Is, 1904. AT the same time the net
earnings of the company, including
it's subsidiary companies, were esti-
mated at $3,350,000 for the fiscal year
ending June Is, 1904. The estimate
dlteE ueuuCtulS lHleTcSI upon the
bonds, and dividends on the preferred
stock. would leave $2,040,000 for the
common shares. The financial state
ment for the year ending June Is.
1904, has not, however, justified this
estimate, as the net earnings shown
are approximately only $350,000. In
addition to this discrepancy in the es-
timated and actual earnings attention
has been called to the difference
shown in the surplus account publish
ed in June. 1903, and the surplus ac-
count for June, 1903, as it stands re-
constructed today.
Two Statements Differ.
On June Is, 1903, the company is
sued a statement which showed a sur
plus account at that time of ap-
prOximately $4,665,000. This year.
however, in making up the fiscal
statement for the year ending June
Is, 1904, the company has undertaken
to reconstruct the surplus account for
1903, and the account as reconstruct
ed shows for the year ending June
Is, 1903, surplus of only $3,140,0 900,
instead of $4,665,000 as at first report
ed. This is a difference of over a
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