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VOL. XXXV. CLEVELAND, MAY $80, 1907. No. 22 THE CUNARD CO.'S ANNUAY MEETING. At the annual meeting of sig Cunard Steamship Co., 'held on April 18, the chairman, William Watson, said: 'Tt is with great pleasure that I am today able to congratulate you and all the shareholders on the suc- cessful result of the working of the company for the year 1906. Each branch of our trade shows an_ in- crease of business over that of the previous year, and we trust that this improvement will be continued, and that each successive year will show that the policy of progress which the company has inaugurated is a bold but wise and prudent one. "The figures of our report show a revenue of £2,270,000 (I will only deal with round figures as you have the report before you), an increase of «£496,000. As you can well un- derstand our expenditure on this larger business must be greater, and is £1,176,000, an increase of £251,- 000. These increases were -- largely due to the increased tonnage put in the New York trade, and it is satis- factory to know that the increase of 'revenue was much more than _ the increase in expenditure. The most noteworthy items in the increased expenditure were repairs and renew- als, office and agency expenses, and running expenses of the vessels, all of which were due, I repeat, to the increased tonnage brought into the trade, and to the consequent increased business done. "Coming to the profit and _ loss account you will see that we have revenue account, sundry receipts and balance from 1905, amounting to £564,000. Out of that we have paid interest £36,000 on our indebtedness. We have put to the depreciation of ships account, £210,000-- £35,000 more than last year, to depreciation of wharf properties £9,700 and 'ae by! wmsmrance fund £3,700. cy a-fet balance of £304,- 000, afd that amount has been dealt -with by transferring £120,000 to our insurance fund, which we wish to strengthen and to build up into a much larger figure, so' that we may be able to run larger lines: on our ships, and derive the profit which we consider will inure from our doing so. We have placed also £50- 000 to the reserve fund, raising that fund to £200,000, and we have carried down a balance at the credit of profit and loss of £134,000. Out of this balance we recommend a dividend of 5 per - cent, involving £80,001, and carrying over to next year's account £54,- 411. These figures, gentlemen, must, I think, be very satisfactory to you as they are to your directors: You will be well aware that the company considerable commitments, directors .desire to build in view of such com- is under and your up its funds mitments. -- A "You will notice that we carry over a balance of £54,411 which is very much larger than we did last year or in any previous year. -That we should: carry over a large amount has been one of my desires for many years. I have had a great deal of experience, I may say, in dealing with the business of large companies, this experience has taught me that it is a most wise and prudent meas- ure to have floating nature on which to draw when necessary without touching "reserves" which we wish to be con- sidered of a more permanent charac- ter, Fluctuations in the business of a steamship company are inevitable, and a floating balance is a very use- ful factor in enabling us to meet any necessity that may arise, without touching, I repeat, our permanent reserves. "The reduction of the acceptances on account of new ships from £1,- _The two new fast. ships, and -- a large reserve: of a. 190,000 to £660,000 is a very satis- factory feature in the accounts, and will reduce the amount incurred for interest during the present year. "The company's offices in Cock- spur street, London, having become too small for the business done thére, 'the company has arranged for larger premises in the same street. The company has acquired the freehold of -29 and 30, and are having them rebuilt to suit their requirements. "At New York the dock accommo- dation is insufficient to meet the com- . pany's increased tonnage, and larger piers have been hired from the city authorities on a satisfactory lease. "Our ships have been run during the year without any serious damage. Lusitania and Mauretania, which are being built under the agreement with His Ma- jesty's government}; are approaching completion, and we hope to--have them running in the course of a few months. "Tt will be interesting to note that the value of the shares on the basis of. the company's assets is £2,434,- 000, or an average of over £30 for each fully-paid share of £20. "The relations of the company to its competitors are much the same 'as described to. you in my speech at the last annual meeting, and I might well repeat them as: showing the position of the company. Al- though there are no binding agree- ments as to rates, the various steam- ship companies are running at prac- tically the same rates which obtained for 1905. While there have been ru- mors of one or two of our conti- nental competitors contemplating a . departure from these rates, they have so far remained practically undis- turbed. We trust that this condition will be continued, as we cannot see . that any company can hope to derive benefit from a departure from « the - understanding among us.