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Show COPPER DIVIDENDS MAY PASS $1,000,000,000 MARK IN 1916 American Production, Profits and Disbursements Breaking All Records; 34 Companies Paid $37,565,149 in Last Half of .1915. TTI E yar iru brings to a happy close the banner yar by far in the history of the copper industry as regards earnings and dividends of copper-producing com pa nies. Thirty-four of the strictly copper-producing companies paid ?37,56.,1-1'J in dividends divi-dends in the second half of the year, compared com-pared with $19,1,305 disbursed by twenty-four of the t hirty-four big companies in the first half of the year, says the Fn-nancial Fn-nancial world. Adding Jl&,0G:.5ti0 from copper companies com-panies which also handle ot her metals, the year's total dh id ends from copper, 575.31S, OH, equal or exceed the aggregate dividends of street railroads in the United States last yeax, and e.veed the dividends paid by the national banks of the country. coun-try. Actual profits from copper production in 1915 surpassed $iuo,00o,i)00 and will exceed ex-ceed $122,000,000 in 1916, according to most conserva.tive est i mates barring, of course, unloreseen catastrophes. The total dividends paid by thirty-four strictly copper companies for the year, ?5,1J54.4:,4, 1h a gain of 40 per cent over the $-11,611,489 paid by twenty-eight strictly copper-producing companies in 1914, and is only slightly below the record rec-ord copper dividend year 191 3, when $5 9,:' a?.') 95 wa-s disbursed by thirty-five , companies as listed herewith. These loials compare with S52.000.000 in 1912, and nearly 533,000,000 in 1911 and 1910. Effect of War. The year 191 5 would have far outstripped out-stripped the previous record dividend ; year, 1913, had It not been that the out- : break of the war in Europe in August, ! 1914, tempuratily dislocated the .world's copper Industry for the last half of the fiscal year 1914 and the first two months of 1915. making it necessary for the companies to go on part lime during that period and conserve their cash. Even when-copper production and copper prices .were restored to high levels, about iiarch, 1915, depleted treasuries made it inadvisable inad-visable for the companies to at once disburse dis-burse t heir munificent earnings in cash dividends. It wab not until well along toward the latter part of 1915 that the copper companies really attained their "stride" as regards dividends. And yet, despite t lie lean tint semester semes-ter in 1 915. the year's total dividends would have surpassed 191 .", had not the big Anaconda curtailed its dividends to only one-third of its earnings, because of some outstanding notes which the company com-pany -wishes soon to retire. Had Anaconda Ana-conda paid $6 a share instead of ?3 it earned nearly ?I0 nearlv ?7,5i0.000 would have been added to the year's dividends. which would have then broken the 1913 record by over $5,u00,ooo. instead of 191.Vs falling by about $2,000,000 short of the 1913 record. A return of 20.1 per cent per annum Is represented by the $57,254,454 paid in dividends divi-dends by the thirty-four strictly copper companies in 1915. Their aggregate issued is-sued capital stoek is $286,269,500. In fact, ; the last half year's dividends return at the rate of 27 per cent per annum on the 1 tolal capital Invested. It is needless to point out that sue It a profitable return is several fold the dividend return on the capital Invested In dividend -paying railroads rail-roads and national banks, or in fact in any other major industry in the United States, or in t lie world not even excepting except-ing the Standard Oil group. What Is "In Sight." As to the outlook for lOlfi; The sum of S87.S33.472 is conservatively figured "in sight' from thirty-four strictly strict-ly copper companies, exclusive of assured dividends from four others. The total for the year may very substantially exceed ex-ceed the sum named. The figures are ba sed only on the prevailing dividends being actually paid In recent quarters by the compani1? concerned, and in all cases rhe.e dividends Hre far UMow actual earnings, earn-ings, and iu several cases below the dividends divi-dends officially or semi -off i.-m ily promised prom-ised fop next year. 1 owever, no a llow-ance llow-ance Is made for increased dividends. Tor instance, Anaconda Is figured at S4 a share for 1916 th1 rate now prevailing-when prevailing-when ?6 is sem I -ofl'iciall y promi.-ed and the company is actually faming over S0 a phare. '"ireene- 'aiiiuiea's Fiihsldbu'ics in Mexico (Greene Consolidated and P--drol and lh.- roppr Rane subsidiaries in Michigan, will hrinp- the reasmiitbiy as-suied as-suied total for 1916 well uhuve $90,o00.(W0. The ?S7,S30,472 conservatively figured t'nr 1 916 is nearly TO ppr cen1 in excess of the ?59.:l:.'7.695 disbursed in the previous pre-vious record yea r, IP 1.1. The sum of $722.-Mt0.75 $722.-Mt0.75 is tho grand total of dividends paid from the properties of these forty-two forty-two companies since incorporation, or no Ifss than L'2H per cent on the -V'-' 1. 1 1 1.P''5 par value invested. Tn other words, the entire apsrre.c-ate present capital of the forty-two artive dividend -paying copper mining companies lias already ben repaid re-paid in dividends two and one-fourth t i tries over ti date, a nd nepd less to add, the companies are .still in their prime as regards dividends. Even the nearly exhauster ex-hauster mine?, such as Tamarack and Wolverine, will still i epav In dividends -evcral hundred per cent of their total capital. Profitable Business. Adding $173,Wo,m paid by important copper companies which also handle other .metals, the total copper dividends nearlv I reach $900,000,000 $806.85,930 to be ex-j ex-j act. These dividends have been paid by I forty-nine eompanies, with aji average ! dividend life of 12.1 years to date, or i substantially $7'-.000.000 per annum in div-I div-I idends yea rly in reeent yea rs from the. I copper industry. Indk ated copper dividends divi-dends for 1016 are $107,834.2S $S7.S33.472 f rom I he strictly copper producers, and Sl'o.ooo.stS from only the most important copper companies, which also handle other metals. So much for dividends; now for actual earnings. Actual earnings from copper In 1015 aggregated ag-gregated $113.250,000 from the forty-nine companies enumerated. This is based on their estimated production of 1.400.OuO,OO0 pounds of the red meial at. an average price of Sj cents per pound, and average selling price of 1 6 V eents per pound an average profit of 7- cents per pound. Earnings in lOlfi, from copper production, are conservatively figured at $122,000,000 for the companies named. This is based on their present rate of production and costs 1,600.000,000 pounds per annum at an average cost of S1 cents per pound. An average selling price of 16 cents is assumed the average selling price in 1015. Billion-dollar Mark. The SI 22.0OO.0O0 conservatively indicated . profits from copper in 1916 compare with 1 5S7.SX3.472 estimated in dividends from thirty-four strictly copper companies, and $20. 000. SI 3 from seven companies which handle other metals as well as copper or ?tO?.S34.2S!i copper dividends in all. This is still $14,000,000 below indicated earnings, earn-ings, leaving $14,000,000 surplus next year to augment the S2S, 000,000 surplus earnings earn-ings over and above dividends in 1915. The billion-dollar mark in copper dividends divi-dends will be passed by December 31 . 1016. from all indications. The forty-two strictlv copper companies listed will have disbursed ?S10,724t.267, wtith S195.395.94S more from the seven copper-and-othet-metals producers, or $1.006. 720. 2b iu copper cop-per dividends in alt in an average dividend- life for the forty-nine companies of twelve years to date. The prolts in no other great industry in the world even nearlv approach this stupendous disbursement' disburse-ment' of actual dividends from copper. Footnote Disbursements in 1913 are exclusive of $915,000 additional by Tuolumne, Tuol-umne, Isle Royale and Nevada-Douglas, not now in the dividend-paying class; and Jimulco and Mazapil in Mexico, the last named British -owned. |