Evening star., 1953-01-13
AWKER SIDDELEY GROUP LIMITED
NATURALIZATION WOULD WRECK BRITAIN'S
AIRCRAFT INDUSTRY
MIR. T. O. M. SOPWTTH REVIEWS YEAR OF GREAT
AVIATION ACHIEVEMENT
ADVERTTSEMENT. A
ADVERTISEMENT,

ANNUAL IENEItAA
MEETING OF the Hawker Siddeley Group
Limited was held on January at the Dor
chester Hotel, London, w.
Mr.. T.. o. M. SOPWITH, CBE., the chair.
man, in the course of his speech said
We have again had satisfactory year. The
trading profits of the company and its sub
sidiaries for the year ended July 81 1852, after
deducting reserve for increased replacement
cost Of fixed assets amounted to S5l84,552
rs compared with &4,216,835 for the preceding
year. Sales by our United Kingdom companies
have been well maintained during 1951-52 and
A. v. Roe Canada Limited which is making
an important contribution to the Canadian
defense programme, has increased its turn
over and profits. With the consent of HIM.
Treasury we remitted further funds to that
company during the year.
Our estimate of the taxation based on the
years profits is s3768,563 You will notice
that despite the increase in profits it has been
necessary to provide only S25,000 for excess
profits levy. Three factors have contributed
to this position. The first is that during the
standard years substantial profits were earned
The second is that our standard is increased
by IL per cent of the profits retained between
the standard period and July, 1851. Finally
the profits of A. v. Roe Canada Limited are
not liable to the levy and liability would only
attach to the group in respect of dividends
declared.
We have recently made an estimate of what
1t would cost to replace the fixed assets of
dicates that it woJld cost over i3O00OOOO
more than four times their written down book
value, to replace these assets at today's prices
Consequently your directors are continuing
their conservative financial policy in adding
E1,250y000 out of the profits for the wear to
reserve for replacement of fixed assets and
development, thereby increasing the reserve to
100000. Your board support the FBI
and all prudent industrialists in the campaign
for substantially larger depreciation allow
81
restricts expansion but it also restricts
replacement.
High taxation makes it increasingly difficult
Tor industry to finance current trading In
cases Of companies with Government con-
tracts, the absurd position often rises where
one Government Department demands heavy
tax payments whilst another Department finds
1t difficult to finance stock and work-in pro-
gress thus throwing an additional burden on
the contractor.
After including profits of prior years. less
the taxation attributable thereto, the balance
Of profit is S2,051, ,478. We have again trans
ferred $500, 1000 to contingency reserves and
have increased the amounts carried forward
on the profit and loss accounts of the sub
sidiaries by 91,119983. OF this S4O6 954
relates to A. V. Roe Canada Ltd. The
resultant balance of profit of Hawker Siddeley
Group Ltd. is i431 .495, which covers the
dividends and increases its carry forward by
f73,322.
observe that stock and work progress, less
progress payments, amounts to f24239193
an increase of some S7.500000 over the figure
at July 81, 1851. The increased volume of
production has necessitated borrowing from
bankers. This borrowing is expected to
increase substantially during the period i'm
mediately ahead
GENERAL SURVEY
During the past year great improvements
have benn the tio1 oir y, ~
the British Commonwealth and of her allies
s considerable contribution towards this has
come from the Hawker Siddeley Group and
our new types, just coming into production,
w1u further enhance the superiority of the
Royal Air Force.
No fewer than five of our designs have been
selected for Super-priority production and are
being built by your companies. In addition,
we are engaged on orders for other types Of
great Importance.
This outstanding achievement is a great
tribute to the success Of o'lr design teams. It
mas been made possible by the incessant work
OF very large number of our people. Not
only have they succeeded in keeping in the
forefront OF scientific and technical develop
ment but they have also been able to interpret
such knowledge into aircraft and engine
Which are OF immediate practical use.
Success in design is obtained by harnessing
experience to forward thinking and planning.
Looking not one, two or three years into the
Auluc, UuC i've, Ten OF more
factor of paramount Importance is
research. So rapid and continuous have been
the advances in the science of aeronautics
during the last few years that once again we
are on the fringe of the unknown, venturing
into realms about which there is little certain
knowledge. The only way to obtain such
knowledge is by research. The products
have just referred to are the fruits of un-
ceasng research work over the past decade
Due to the diversity of our activities the
n fouo b1n l.,,@
continuity and steadneSs is required in the
industry as a whole This is especially so in
relation to our labour force. One of the
sources OF the industry's strength is the quality
and quantity of skilled man-power in all it's
sections. To preserve this force intact during
the period between quantity production of
successive types is a matter of prime impor-
tance and great difficulty If skilled men are
released during this time they will be lost to
our industry and their replacement is a long
and arduous task.
Stability is necessary too, to attract to the
industry men with the proper academic and
technical qualifications. If we are to keep
the lead which we believe the British aircraft
industry has established over other countries
we must continue to offer worthwhile career
TO men of the right calibre.
The nation must have security for the future
This can only be assured by giving the aircraft
Industry broad-based stability which will
prevent it from being too much at the mercy
OF fluctuating economic situations.
AIRCRAFT
1t was with pride that in September last. we
were able to announce the first flight of the
Avro Vulcan" delta-wing bomber It's first
public appearance was called by independent
experts "one of the most significant flyne
demonstrations in the whole history of British
aeronauticS."
The Vulcan" is the first delta bomber.
and we believe the most efficient bomber in
the world. Its demonstration marked a
successful climax to many years of intensive
research and experimental work by A. v. Roe
& Co., Ltd. The vulcan" has been included
on the super-priority list