Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-02-09
OIL FIRMS REVISE
DIVIDEND PAYMENT
Cash Disbursements Have
Fallen During First Quar-
ter of Year.
BY BRADLEY w. TRENT.

Special Dispatch to The Star.
NEW YORK, February 9.-IlluStrative
of conditions in the oil industry, a sur
vey indicates that cash dividend dis
bursements by the various companies in
the so-called Standard Oil group this
quarter will fall materially below those
made during the first quarter of 1880.
when they registered a new high record
for the first quarter of any year.
While not all of the companies in
the group have declared dividends pay
able this quarter, a sufficiently large
number have done so to Justify the
conclusion that payments will be smaller
In the aggregate than a year ago.
Dividend Declarations.
OF the 81 companies, including pipe
line organizations, in the Standard Oil
group, II have declared dividends pay
able this quarter. Included among them
are the largest dividend payers in the
entire group. The aggregate of the
cash dividends payable during the first
three months of the year is estimated at
S53 ,O39,000. The same companies dis
tributed SIS, $40, 900 in cash during the
| first quarter of 1880.
The total cash payments by the
standard Oil group of companies in the
| flrst quarter of 1890 was SOS. 738. 600. II
| all the companies yet to declare divi-
bends for the first three months Of this
year make the same distributions as
tney did year ago, the total cash
olvldends by Standard Oil companies
curing the current quarter will come To
| approximately 500, $4,000.
The drop in cash dividends Of the
standard on companies is due to cuts
IN rates made by four companies. The
principal cut was that made by the
standard OH Co. of Indiana. COMPARED
with rate of $3.50 a share annually.
or 6215 cents q share quartely paid a
year ago, that company this quarter
VIII pay only so cents a share, a diff
| ference OF 1912 cents a share. which in
this case runs into a tidv SIM because
the company has issued and outstand-
ing nearly 100000 shares.
Other Reductions.
The second important company to
make cut was Ohio Oil, which recent
ly reduced the dividend from so cents
a share to 25 cents.
Cuts also were made by Standard Oil
| OF Nebraska and by Standard OIL of
Kansas, but as both those Companies
have small capitalization the reduc-
lions make little difference in the total
! disbursements by the Standard Oil
| group.
In contrast to these reductions the
vacuum Oil Co. Is distributing more
this quarter than it did in the first
quarter of 1880. That is not due to any
increase in the regular rate nor to an
extra dividend. The company is paving
81 share regular cash dividend, juSt as
1t did in the first quarter of 1880. On
tne other hand, 1t has issued about
3OU,UOO additional shares within the last
IL months in the acquisition of new
properties and is continuing the regu-
lar dividend payments on the increased
capitalization.
The largest dividend payer In the
group, as heretofore, is the Standard
OH Co. of New Jersey. It is paying 25
| cents regular and 25 cents extra on its
capital stock this quarter, which is what
1t paid in the first three months of last
year. That amounts to $12,7O .484.
which is far larger than any other COM
pany IS paying. Standard of California
comes second with $40, ,614, being
paid on 16,850,578 shares of capital
stock at the rate of 621a cents a share.
Copyright, 1879