The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-03-21
Stock Has Jumped Up Twenty Dollars a Share During the Past Few Days
WILL LIST STOCK ON
 NEW YORK EXCHANGE
Local Banker Says Company Has PrOspered by Attend ing to Business and Seiz- ing Opportunities

The finest example in Alabama today of making the most of the opportunities presented is the Gulf States Steel com pany" said Leo K. Steiner yesterday
 Here is a concern which has gone quietly ahead developing it's properties, increasing and diversifying it's products until it is now something the whole state can take pride in
 And this policy pays Within three days last week Gulf States Steel stock in creased $2O a share so that on Friday it's price was $7s. Only a few years ago this stock was around $10 and there was little demand for it at that price.
 The official reports now show fine dividends and the company is in very substantial condition. It is a good ex- ample of what can be done here In this mineral district when efforts to develop our resources are made in an inteli- gent and earnest way
 And not only is the company itself
 benefited. Last I week was in Gadsden and things are Hourishing there. Every one is in fine humor, and everyone has good word to say of Gulf States Steel
 and what the company is doing"
 Saturdays New York Times contains the following interesting information:
 WILL LIST STOCK
 Application will be made shortly to list on the New York Stock exchange l $2,o0O,oo0 per cent cumulative pre- ferred, $4,000o00 per cent noncumulative
 second preferred, and s50O0,oo0 common stock of the Gulf States Steel company the successor to the old Southern Iron
 and Steel company. This announcement
 which was made yesterday by a director
 of the company, brings to light another steel romance which has resulted from the revival of the steel business since the beginning of the war.
 The old Southern Iron and Steel com pany tried three different times to earn a living, but it failed easn time and went through three receivelships. Times were dull when the last receivership was l lifted in December, 1913 and a drastic reorganization which wiped out every bit ] of bonded indebtedness was approved by 1 the security holders as the only way out of bad situation. The old bond | holders took only pittance of new stock 1 for their bonds, and even this stock had 1 little value at the time. The capitaliza- l tion was reduced from $2S, 600, 900 to $11 =
 ooo.OoO, and all fixed charges were wiped out. The new company was named the | Gulf States Steel company.
 PROSPERITY WAVE
 I "In 1914 the prosperity wave started, and the new company began to make money steel and wire products. When the boom started the common stock was selling at 8 a share. the first preferred at $40. and the second preferred at $l5 a share. The old bondholders who were | largely persons in Alabama, it was said yesterday, began to sell their stock when | the first rise came, particularly the com mon stock. Apparently they did nos I realize that real boom was under way. l The great portion of the stocks, it was
 said, found their way to New York, and 1 this has prompted the listing of the l stock on the local excnange Yesterday ] the common stock was reported soIU at l 67 the first preferred at 91 and the sec 1 end preferred at 67. The persons who I lost heavily in their investments in se- ] curities Of the old Southern Iron and Steel
 company according to the reports lost l their opportunity to retrieve their losses.
 The new company earned $l12,0 900 net l in 1914, but paid no dividends. In 1915 ! it earned $6oS 0000 net. The February, l 1N6 net earnings, which were published ! yesterday, were $1ao, ,O00, hence in excess I of the earnings of the whole of 1914 "'The company has not prospered on account of war orders, said one of the directors yesterday. We did take one l Russian order for wire fences, but this constituted less than per cent of last years production We rather regretted I having taken that order The directors 1 are not kindly disposed to the war bus- 1 ness, it seems. Our greatest boom has been in the export business to Cuba and South America and by way of the 1 Panama canal to the Pacific coast.