Document bykwbkqgZqJKyYjELgeGvxK4Z

for new plants and new products were con siderably lower in 1964 than in recent years. Consequently, seme plants and products, par ticularly in hydraulic equipment ar.d freight car wheels, showed substantial improvement :r. operating results. Also, reduction in the fed eral income tax rate in 1964 increased earnings by S360.000 or 19 cents per share. Earnings before taxes increased from 6.9 per cent of sales in 1963 to 8.1 per cent in 1964. The return on stockholders' equity also im proved. as indicated by the accompanying chart. DIVIDENDS Dividends totaling $2.50 per share were paid in 1964 compared with $2.40 in the previous year. In the final quarter, the Board of Direc tors raised the quarterly dividend rate to 70 cents per share. The December payment was the 250th consecutive quarterly cash dividend paid to shareowners. ORDERS AND 3ACKLOG Total orders received in 1964 were the highest in company history, amounting to $260,300,000. Orders exceeded shipments by approximately eight per cent. As a result, the backlog of orders at year end was a record $70,700,000 contrasted with 856,100,000 a year previous. The product mix of the backlog was in good balance among the four major product groups. CAPITAL EXPENDITURES AND DEPRECIATION Capital expenditures for 1964 amounted to S7,913,339. compared with Sll,124,517 in 1963. Charges for depreciation and amortization in creased to S10,423,323 from $9,645,690 the pre ceding year. The major portion of capital expenditures during 1964 went into cost reduc tion programs and normal replacement of equipment. Capital expenditures planned for this year are higher than in 1964 and are ex- Return on Stockholders' Equity ------------------------------------P-E-R-C--E-N-T 16 '.955 56 '5? '58 :9 cO '51 '52 '63 '6* 3 SCI 01925