Stockholders' Delight

For U.S. stockholders, there was good news on all sides as company after company raised dividends. International Business Machines hiked its quarterly dividend on common stock from 60-c- to 75-c-. Swift & Co., the nation's largest meat packer, declared a special dividend of 25-c- a share in addition to its regular quarterly dividend of 40-c- a share. Directors of American Tobacco Co. voted an extra dividend of $1 on top of its regular $1 quarterly dividend. American News Co. raised its quarterly dividend from 40-c- to 50-c- a share, Johnson & Johnson from 20-c- to 25-c-, Associated Dry Goods Corp. from 55-c- to 62 1/2-c-. McDonnell Aircraft announced plans to split its stock 2 for 1 and double its annual cash dividend of $1. Stock dividends were declared by St. Regis Paper Co., Cooper-Bessemer Corp., Aetna Casualty and Surety Co.

The flood of raised dividends reflected healthy earnings. There were exceptions, as expected, in industries that suffered most from the steel strike. U.S. Steel reported quarterly earnings of 44-c-, v. last year's $1.57, finished the year with earnings of $4.24 a share, v. 1958's $5.13. But more than half of the major reporting steel companies came out of 1959 with better earnings than 1958, despite the long shutdown, and the others did not suffer badly. Big Steel's Chairman Roger M. Blough summed up the industry's confidence for 1960 by announcing that his company will maintain an operating rate of between 90% and 95% of capacity during the first quarter, with only slight declines for the second and third quarters as users rebuild their inventories.

Some chemical companies (Monsanto, Vick Chemical, Freeport Sulphur) also reported moderately lower earnings for the quarter as a result of the steel strike, but all ended 1959 well ahead of 1958. Almost all railroads, whose generally sad financial plight was worsened by the steel strike's effect on business, saw fourth quarter earnings fall. But there were signs that the slump in oil may be over. Standard Oil Co. (N.J.) lifted its profit 11% for the year, made a slight gain in the fourth quarter; fourth-quarter gains were also chalked up by Phillips Petroleum and Standard Oil Co. of California. Jersey Standard President M. J. Rathbone gave the credit for improved earnings to a record sales volume of $8.2 billion, more efficient use of facilities, and the rapid Growth of the petrochemical industry. Other quarterly earnings:

Company 1958 1959

Westinghouse $1.47 $1.69

Procter & Gamble .93 1.13

Johns-Manville .85 .93

Avco .21 .35

National Distillers .44 .60

National Biscuit 1.03 1.11

Philco .60 .67

General Telephone .73 .98

Sperry Rand .27 .36

Libbey-Owens-Ford .97 1.10

Crown Zellerbach .68 .73

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