Document 0g82OdZ29yyBDax4QRnNQV58x

WALL STREET JOURNAL January 18, 1956 Monsanto Chemical Co. _ . WiU you be kind enough to give me ____, information^ about the Monsanto Chemical Co.\ Do you think It would be a good investment' and do you believe that value of the shares will- increase f Can larger dividends be expected TI --W. H. v i(.-. : : [ Since completion at its depression-initiated! program of property expansion and productj diversification, Monsanto Chemical Co. has been* displaying a far greater measure of earnings) resiliency than the average unit in its field.) Whereas activities during the 1920s were prln-: cipally confined to production of fine and medic inal chemicals, the larger percentage of reve nues is now derived from a variety of "heavy" chemical lines employed in almost an industrial processes. With sales in newer divisions stimu lated by broadening business improvement, and aided by increased returns from a foreign sub sidiary, the consolidated enterprise in 1935 car-! ried earnings to another record level. Recent estimates place net income for the year at roughly $3,700,000. Equivalent to $3.70 for each of the 1,013,415 one-class shares currently out-1 standing, this would compare with net profit | of $2,619,465 earned in 1934, of $2,221,207 ini 1933 and of $1,012,698 in 1932. Best pre-depres-1 sion net income was the $1,691,338 secured in | 1929. And while the profits uptrend can scarce-1 ly be expected to continue on a commensurate f [scale, the company seemingly can be relied .upon ' jto reflect in revenues and earnings any further extension of the general business recovery [movement. '. . [ From treasury resources Monsanto Chemical Co. late in 1934 retired all of its funded debt outstanding. Although bearing testimony to a . strong financial condition, the action carried even greater significance in its implication that plant capacity finally had been expanded suf ficiently to care for future needs. And with treasury resources since bolstered by-the large 1935 -income increments, directors now have ample latitude for advancing regular dividend payments from the present $1 annual rate. In line with most equities in its group, the one- class stock, at 95, appears generously to capi- & talize current' earnings; but as a vehicle for | speculating on fortunes of the chemical indua- if: try, the issue is regarded as ranking among the more desirable. b