Agency building in Bremerhaven: Depreciation...... Coal yard at Kaiserhafen in Bremerhaven: Depreciation 16,785. 20 100,000.00 10,000.00 1, 220, 142. 15 9, 379, 800.90 Profit per 1893. Deduct 10 per cent on insurance reserve fund carried over Per account European voyages: Business surplus for 1893. Surplus from voyages to New York, Balti- Deduct extraordinary repairs and expenses Surplus from trips of Government mail steam- Deduct extraordinary repairs. Proportion of the Government-mail steamer Proportion of the Government-mail steamer lines of the premium surplus.. Marks. 7, 107, 230, 30 1,687, 886.55 895, 922. 20 188,945.90 6, 414, 532. 40 Laundry account: Working surplus for 1893. Premium surplus account: Surplus of premiums Deduct 20 per cent on insurance funds carried over. Deduct proportion of the Government steamer lines.... Old material account: Receipts from old metal, cordage, etc. DR. BALANCE ACCOUNT. CR. Per stock capital Per dividend account: Dividend certificates to be redeemed Insurance reserve fund: Per renewal fund: Carried forward from 1892. Deduct: Marks. 7,612, 790.95 2, 513, 800.00 For new boiler of Bayern....... For new boiler of Sachsen. Marks. 200,000.00 200, 000. 00 Marks. Per loan account: Depreciation to the close of 1888...... 267, 072.50 Credited from the premium surplus of the current year .... 4 per cent loan of 1883. 445, 530, 55 5,658, 931. 80 11,808, 000, 00 Sale of area in 1891. 5,000.00 4 per cent loan of 1885. 8,810, 500.00 272,072, 50 20, 618, 500. Equipment account: First equipment and furniture, 11,625 marks; Steam dredger; Cost price, 9,963.50 marks; depreciation all but.. 1.00 Prepaid passages. 1.00 Current accounts... Storehouse at the old harbor in Bremerhaven: Building and machines, boiler foundry, and magazine of former workshop; original cost price, 44,166.15 marks; depreciation all but.. Sundry creditors: For unpaid accidents and average damage at sea, premium for pending risks. 940, 218. 20 846, 748.30 2, 924, 583. 60 1,567, 130. 75 625,985. 65 6,904, 666. 50 1, 220, 142. 15 Redeemable interest coupons of 4 per cent loan of 1883, Redeemable interest coupons of 4 per cent loan of 1885, 232, 500.00 46, 034. 05 278, 534. 05 Station building at Bremerhaven: Cost price of waiting hall and recep- Freight warehouse at the old harbor in Bremerhaven: Cost price, 58.221.15 marks; depreciation to..... 1.00 Freight warehouses, I and II at Kaiserhafen in Bremer haven: Freight warehouse at the new harbor in Bremerhaven: Cost price, Cost price, I, 54,000 marks; II, 19,300 marks. 1.00 Depreciation at close of 1893 20,000.00 3, 184, 423. 65 Cost price of pier, storehouse, and dwelling Depreciation at close of 1889........... Supplies and coal.. Steamer Prinz Regent, being built, payment made. Steamer Luitpold. Assets: Investments in bonds and stocks enumerated. Sundry debits: Outstanding, equipment for current trips, cash account of agencies, and credit at banks. Repair workshop business account: Materials and parts of machines in reserve... Laundry business account. 143 HAMBURG-AMERICAN PACKET COMPANY. Following is the report for the calendar year 1893, dated March, 1894: We have the honor to hand you the balance and the profit and loss account for the past year: The account shows a profit of....... Deduct the interest of the preferred loan... We have.... Marks. 4, 535, 753.91 475,000.00 4,060, 753.91 which sum has been written down for depreciation in the value of our fleet, etc. We regret that we feel obliged to suggest that no dividend be declared for the past business year, on account of the present depreciation in the value of our vessels. On account of the numerous inventions and improvements which have been made in recent years in machinery and vessel construction, old steamers can be utilized with profit only if their book value can be lowered an unusual degree. Again, in consequence of the depressed condition of the shipping business, new vessels can be contracted for at lower figures than ever before. The administration of a steamship company, which fully recognizes its responsibilities, dare not neglect at this time to strive to bring the book value of its flotilla, as far as possible, up to the standard required by circumstances. The cholera epidemic has influenced our earnings in the past year almost as much as did the great catastrophe of the foregoing year. Passenger as well as freight traffic suffered continually from lack of confidence at home and abroad in the sanitary condition of Hamburg. We were therefore obliged, as far as possible, to contract with friendly steamer companies to seek traffic which was turned away from Hamburg in other harbors. We were successful, although not without great expense and unusual effort, by running our vessels to the Scandinavian and Italian harbors, also to Antwerp, and thus attained nearly the same amount of business as in former years. We were affected adversely by the decree of the state authorities, which for sanitary reasons ordered the discontinuance of the Russian immigration movement, which constituted 50 per cent of all the immigration through Hamburg during recent years. On this account our income was not only lessened by millions, but we were obliged to refund about 500,000 marks, for which amount we had sold passage assignments (called prepaid tickets) to people in America who wished to send for their relatives from the old country, as we were unable to carry out the agreement. At the beginning of this year we were successful, thanks to the friendly assistance received from our chamber of commerce, in securing the recall of the interdict, so far as traffic of Hamburg was concerned, with conditions, however, which even to-day put us at a disadvantage with all other harbors. Although we hope that these conditions will soon be entirely withdrawn, and that at last a parity between Hamburg and competing harbors will be reestablished, the sad experiences of past years have made it necessary for us to make arrangements, should it again be necessary to impose extraordinary regulations, for the possible transfer of our business and thus avoid another risk to the existence of our enterprise. For this purpose we have entered into an agreement with the Norddeutscher Lloyd that we be allowed to transfer our business to Bremen should there be a recurrence of cholera; and in order to be prepared in every way we have closed a contract to lease from the Oldenburg state authorities the Oldenburg Harbor, Nordenham, opposite Bremerhaven, a part of the pier and room for storage, which we are using at the present time for our sailings to West Indies. Hand and hand with the losses through the abnormal conditions on this side was the unfortunate circumstance of the long crisis in the United States, which had its effect on the North Atlantic passenger and freight traffic. The unfortunate condition of trade; the dread of another cholera epidemic in Europe, and also the attractions of the exposition in Chicago, worked together greatly to reduce the yearly American cabin passenger traffic toward Europe every spring and back again in the autumn. The traffic which went from Europe to the exposition in Chicago was very meager, and most of this was second class, instead of first class, and, therefore, did not in any way compensate us for the loss of our normal business. Finally, the sensational reports of the return of sporadic cases of cholera in September, especially as reported in the United States, as a forerunner of another epidemic, caused still heavier losses and shrinkage in our business and compelled us at times to change the trips of our express steamers to Wilhelmhaven. Through the extraordinary assistance and protection rendered us by the imperial authorities, in a few days, and mostly by telegraph, it was possible to make the difficult arrangements necessary for transferring such a business so that we could continue our expeditions without interruption. |