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Show COPPER PRICES REDUGESURPLUS American Smelting Has Large Copper Stock; Increasing In-creasing Silver Output. The surplus account of the American Smelting & Refining company will he drawn on to the extent of about one-half the amount necessary to meet the forth- coming common dividend, approximating j $610,000, according to the Boston News I I Bureau. During the first half of . the cur- rent year there was earned out four cent j per snaie toward the $2 paid out to stockholders. stock-holders. The company has been carrying a heavy load in unso.d copper since the :irst 01 . the year. At intervals there have been j buying movements which have somewhat relieved the burden, but they were short- '' As a partial offset against the slow movement of copper, however, the company com-pany nas been able to benefit greatly from the high silver prices. Tne company has been pushing the yield of this metal as much as possible, but nas been some-i some-i what handicapped o.ving to tne desire to keep down copper production. But for the great demand and high prices for s.l-ver, s.l-ver, the copper output of the Guggenheim companies at the present time would doubtless be somewhat reduced. The action of American Smelting directors direc-tors in authorizing the regular quarterly dividend of $1 a share on the common stock marks a continuation o the policy of dipping into surplus to matruain the iunlor issue payment. In the first six months of 1919 the company earned only 4 cents a share on the common stock, leaving a deficit of 51.195,463 after providing pro-viding for the $2 semi-annual dividend requirement. . Earnings in the final half-year will show but little change from the record of the first six months unless a buying movement springs up in the copper market mar-ket But American Smelting directors did not vield to the temptation to make big cash distributions during the war period pe-riod and the company's financial, condition condi-tion has been greatly strengthened by this conservatism. In the four vears to December 31. 1918, common share earnings of American Smelting aggregated $78.67. After allowance allow-ance for common dividends totaling J22, a balance of $56.67 was carried to sur- PlAmerIcan Smelting's outlook In other lines than copper Is encouraging. In normal nor-mal times the company's income from its Mexican mining operations averaged $8 a share on the common stock, and every effort Is being made to speed up production produc-tion below the border to offset the falling off In smelting earnings in the United j States. |