Television digest with electronic reports (Jan-Dec 1953)

10 Financial & Trade Notes: Heavy stockholdings of management in Philco Corp. (aggregate 202,170 shares) are shown in notice of annual stockholders meeting June 5 in Philadelphia, which states that 3,525,372 shares of common stock were outstanding as of April 24, 1953 and lists following officers and directors standing for reelection with their 1952 salaries, incentive compensation and stockholdings: Wm. Balderston, pres., salary $75,000, bonus $90,000 (6169 shares) ; James T. Buckley, chairman, $50,000 (18,810) ; Harold W. Butler, v.p., $30,000 & $38,000 (10,970) ; James H. Carmine, exec, v.p., $60,000 & $72,500 (31,025) ; Wm. H. Chaffee, v.p., $30,000 & $23,500 (901) ; Joseph H. Gillies, v.p., $37,500 & $44,000 (8407) ; Larry E. Gubb, director, $30,000 (28,750) ; Larry F. Hardy, v.p., $40,000 & $57,000 (7509) ; Robert F. Herr, v.p., $25,000 & $40,000 (27,578) ; Thomas A. Kennally, v.p., $30,000 & $25,000 (18,047) ; John M. Otter, v.p., $40,000 & $52,000 (7312) ; Courtnay Pitt, v.p., $30,000 & $29,500 (1270) ; David B. Smith, v.p., $35,000 & $25,000 (3273) ; Leslie J. Woods, v.p., $40,000 & $50,000 (8199). Non-salaried directors and stockholdings: Charles S. Cheston, 250 shares; Russell L. Heberling, v.p., 23,500; Wm. Fulton Kurtz, 200. Under 1950 stock ownership plan, options to purchase Philco common have been granted since beginning of 1952 on 24,496 shares at $28 per share as of Feb. 28, 1952 (when it listed at 28%) and 20,850 shares at 34% as of Jan. 22, 1953 (when it listed at 34%). Of the total, the following were optioned to officers & directors: Messrs. Balderston 10,035, Butler 1238, Carmine 8313, Chaffee 1338, Gillies 1673, Hardy 3345, Herr 1238, Otter 2484, Pitt 1388, Smith 1338, Woods 3345 — plus 4438 shares to officers who are not directors. * * * * General Instrument Corp. earned net income of $1,274,863 ($2.10 a share) on sales of $30,407,529 for 1952, compared with net loss of $993,557 on sales of $18,527,973 preceding year. Sales for March 1953 were reported to be more than $3,500,000, almost double March 1952 figure and highest in company’s history. Notice of annual stockholders meeting June 12 discloses 1952 remunerations and stockholders of these officers and directors : Abraham Blumenkrantz, chairman, $54,000 (owns 12,000 out of 608,573 shares of common stock outstanding) ; Monte Cohen, pres., $52,000 (718 shares) ; Alois Konecny, treas., $28,000. Philco’s first quarter sales of $129,058,000 were highest for any quarter in company’s history, reports president Wm. Balderston, with earnings after taxes of $9,749,000 totaling $3,401,000, or 94d a shai’e after preferred dividends. This compares with sales of $84,239,000 and net profit of $2,341,000 (64d) after taxes of $3,404,000 in same 1952 quarter. Demand for TVs is running ahead of 1952 and radio business is well ahead, Balderston reported. * * * * Dividends: Philco, 40d payable June 12 to stockholders of record May 25; Aerovox, 15d June 15 to holders June 1; Indiana Steel Products, 37%d June 10 to holders May 25; I-T-E Circuit Breaker, 62%d June 1 to holders May 22; Hammond Instrument, 50d June 10 to holders May 25; Meredith Publishing, 25d June 30 to holders June 16; Paramount Pictures, 50d June 26 to holders June 12; Erie Resistor, 20d June 15 to holders Jixne 5; Cornell-Dubilier, 10% stock div. June 15 to holders May 27 and 30<* June 26 to holders June 16; Radio Condenser Co., 5 d June 15 to holders June 1. Avco has arranged $60,000,000 credit with group of 14 banks, to last until April 15, 1956, says statement filed with N. Y. Stock Exchange. Proceeds presumably will be used to pay off loans expiring in June and September. I-T-E Circuit Breaker will vote June 19 on 2-for-l stock split of 1,000,000 currently authorized shares, of which 298,364 were outstanding as of Dec. 31. Among officers’ and directors’ stock transactions reported by SEC for March 11-April 10: Frank H. Sparks sold 100 Arvin, holds 7250; R. S. Pruitt sold 5400 Avco, holds 26,270; Judson S. Sayre received 500 Avco for compensation (Jan.), holds 14,000; Kendrick R. Wilson Jr. bought 400 Avco (July 1951 & July 1952), holds 500; Felix Weiss sold 100 Cornell-Dubilier, holds 100 through joint tenancy; Allen B. DuMont bought 1000 DuMont (Feb.), holds 53,400; Percy M. Stewart bought 190 DuMont, holds 200; Wm H. Miller bought 1100 Gabriel (Jan. & March), holds 14,110; Henry Reeve sold 1000 Hazeltine, holds 10,400; Douglas C. Alexander sold 901 Marchant Calculators (Feb.), holds 6000 personally and as co-trustee; Kenneth C. Meinken Jr. sold 1100 National Union (Aug. 1952), holds none; Edwin D. Foster bought 100 RCA, holds 200; Murrelle J. Fischer bought 1000 Trav-Ler (Jan.), holds 1420; Mark W. Cresap Jr. bought 249 Westinghouse (Feb.), holds 851; George G. Main bought 151 Westinghouse (Feb.), holds 766; A. C. Monteith bought 181 Westinghouse (Feb.), holds 1338; R. A. Neal bought 220 Westinghouse (Feb.), holds 820; Andrew H. Phelps bought 215 Westinghouse (Feb.), holds 1807; A. W. Robertson sold 100 Westinghouse, holds 800. Annual report of Teco Inc., formed by Zenith Radio Corp. to promote its Phonevision and financed by $1,010,000 stock issue (Vol. 6:16) reports balance of $974,802.20 as of Dec. 31, 1952 — showing deficit of $204.58 for 1952 and $6,237.67 for 1951, after 1949-50 expenses of $22,452 and organizational expenses of $34,418 (Vol. 7:17). Interest income exceeds $31,000. S. I. Marks, president, states in April 28 letter to stockholders that company is “continuing on an inactive basis awaiting action by the FCC on the question of whether any form of Phonevision or any other form of subscription TV shall be approved and authorized.” Promotion of Phonevision, meanwhile, is apparently being borne largely by Zenith, including payments for speechmaking tours of Millard Faught. Increase in earnings of TV-radio manufacturers in first quarter of 1953 led all other industries, being 178.8% higher than corresponding 1952 period, according to Wall Street Journal survey covering 411 companies, including 4 unnamed companies representing TV-radio industry. Earnings of the 4 totaled $3,706,000 compared to $1,329,000 same quarter last year. All manufacturing companies covered in survey showed total gain of 10% over 1952. Closest competitor of TV-radio in earnings increase was aircraft manufacturing, which showed 124.4% gain; electrical equipment manufacturers were up 55.2%. Cornell-Dubilier reports net profit of $895,000 ($1.85 a share) on sales of $22,732,000 for 6 months ended March 31, compared with $736,127 ($1.50) on $18,311,007 first half of 1952. Servomechanisms Inc. reports net income of $98,065 (12.9d a share) on sales of $3,072,993 for quarter ended March 31 vs. $101,713 (13d) on sales of $2,856,495 corresponding period last year. Gabriel Co. earned profit of $121,184 (22d a share) on sales of $5,616,920 for first quarter, compared with $18,908 (2d) on sales of $4,052,494 corresponding 1952 quarter. Clarostat reports net income of $235,282 (56d a share) on sales of $5,584,513 for 1952 vs. $316,265 (76d) on sales of $5,914,310 in 1951. Erie Resistor reports net income of $450,333 ($1.62 a share for 1952, compared with $363,292 ($1.31) in 1951. James M. Skinner, retired chairman & president of Philco, who died Feb. 13, left estate valued at $1,830,904, according to inventory filed this week in Philadelphia’s Registry of Wills. Among stockholdings listed were 7865 shares of Philco valued at $259,000.