24 



THE CUBA REVIEW 



CUBAN RAILROAD NEWS 



THE UNITED RAILWAYS DIVIDEND 



The United of the Havana is soundly 

 managed under the present regime, and is 

 enjoying great prosperity. The coming 

 dividend results are awaited with interest. 

 But it is now possible also to look at the 

 chances of the next sugar crop, since so 

 much in Cuba depends upon sugar. The 

 new cane was requiring more rain a few 

 weeks ago, but it was still green and the 

 extra rains came. The prospect now seems 

 to be that the record crop of the past year 

 may be repeated next season if all goes 

 well. But nobody looks for any further 

 increase, although the area under sugar is 

 said to be greater. The hurricane period 

 has now to be faced, and it is a far cry to 

 the December cutting of the cane. But the 

 prospects are bright, and the dividend 

 showing should be quite satisfactory, al- 

 though the directors may be relied upon to 

 act conservatively. — London Observer. 



FIVE PER CENT DIVIDENDS 



The council of the United Railways of 

 Havana submitted to the general assembly 

 of stockholders in London on October 22d 

 the declaration of a 5 per cent dividend on 

 the common stock. It also decided to trans- 

 fer to the reserve fund £125,000, to the 

 reserve fund for repairs i50,000 ; to the in- 

 surance fund, £5,000 ; pension fund, £20,000 ; 

 to cancel the balance of the £15,000 fund 

 for extraordinary work and to carry to a 

 new account £l6,330 10s 7d. On the 5 per 

 cent dividend basis United of Havana 

 stock at 89% cum dividend yields £5 lis 6d 

 per cent. 



NEW BRIDGE UNDER CONSTRUCTION 



The Guantanamo and Western Rail- 

 road is building a steel bridge 260 feet 

 long over the Guaso River near Cuatro 

 Caminos. The company is constructing in 

 its own workshops two passenger cars of 

 native woods. 



OTHER GUANTANAMO RAILROAD NEWS 



The Guantanamo and Western Railroad 

 Company has started construction of a 

 large new sugar warehouse at the port ter- 

 minal of Boquerou. 



Mr. H. B. Snider, for several years gen- 

 eral superintendent of the Cuba (Van 

 Horn) Railroad, has been appointed gen- 

 eral manager of the Guantanamo & West- 

 ern Railroad. He is a man of large rail- 

 "oid experience. 



CUBA RAILROAD COMPANY PROSPECTS 



Low prices were realized for the last 

 Cuban sugar crop, but the prospects for 

 the coming harvest are considered bright, 

 and the Cuba Railroad Company expects 

 to derive still greater benefits during the 

 current year. A large addition is to be 

 made to the rolling stock to deal with the 

 extra tonnage, and a rolling-stock trust 

 has been formed. Other industries are 

 said to be developing healthily, and refer- 

 ence is made to the constant expansion in 

 passenger traffic. After providing for the 

 4 per cent dividend paid on the common 

 stock last May, there was a surplus of 

 $3,396,840 at the end of the fiscal year in 

 June. Since 1905 the gross earnings have 

 increased by 350 per cent, and net receipts 

 by 649 per cent. In the interval working 

 expenses have been continually reduced 

 without impairing the efficiency of the 

 property, the proportion for the past year 

 being 52.17 per cent, compared with 71.28 

 per cent in 1905. — London Daily News. 



The annual report which has now come 

 to hand shows that 8% per cent was ac- 

 tually earned on the $10,000,000 of common 

 capital, so that the board was fully jus- 

 tified in making the distribution in question. 

 For the past twelve months the gross earn- 

 ings amounted to $4,632,000, an increase of 

 $812,800, or 21.3 per cent, while the net 

 earnings totalled $2,215,500, an improve- 

 ment of $396,600, or 21.8 per cent. The 

 directors report that an agreement has been 

 arrived at with the Cuba Company upon all 

 matters relating to the construction of the 

 railway, and the balance of the Cuba Rail- 

 road Company's common shares, namely 

 $3,874,000, has, therefore, been delivered to 

 the Cuba Company. The outlook for the 

 current year is very hopeful, in view of the 

 probability of an excellent sugar crop, while 

 the extensive program of renewals which has 

 been in progress for some time on the rail- 

 way should enable the system to be worked 

 much more economically in future than 

 hitherto. It seems probable, therefore, that 

 during 1913-14 the directors will be able to 

 make a larger return on the common shares 

 than was forthcoming during the period 

 under review. That issue is not dealt in 

 over here, but the $4,000,000 of 5 per cent 

 fifty-year improvement an equipment gold 

 bonds are quoted in London and stand at 

 98. There are also $12,030,000 of first 

 mortgage 5 per cent fifty-year gold bonds, 

 which are changing hands at 105, and also 

 $10,000,000 of 6 per cent non-cumulative 

 preferred shares which stand at 103. — Stock 

 Exchange Gazette, London. 



Detailed earnings are on page 22. 



