§ 51. Mr. McKayasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the sum of company profits for 1946 to 1955, figures to be given separately each year; what was the percentage rise from 1946 to 1955; and what were the profits in the first and second quarter of 1956.
§ Sir E. BoyleThe Answer to the first part of the Question, which involves a number of figures, is given below.
The Answer to the second part of the Question is that the increase in gross trading profits of British companies before tax was 95 per cent. from 1946 to 1955. The answer to the third part of the Question is that figures of profits in the first and second quarters of 1956 are not known.
181WFollowing is the Answer to the first part of the Question:
The gross trading profits of British companies in the years 1946 to 1955, before tax, are estimated as follows:
£ million 1946 … … … … 1,614 1947 … … … … 1,886 1948 … … … … 2,012 1949 … … … … 2,033 1950 … … … … 2,431 1951 … … … … 2,789 1952 … … … … 2,365 1953 … … … … 2,496 1954 … … … … 2,812 1955 … … … … 3,144 These figures are affected by successive acts of nationalisation and denationalisation: they relate to all companies in private ownership in each year.
§ 52. Mr. McKayasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the amount paid in dividends by companies in 1946 to 1955, figures to be given separately for each year; what was the percentage rise from 1946 to 1955; what has been the rise in dividends for the first and second quarter of 1956; and what has been the rise in percentage from 1946 to the latest known figures for 1956.
§ Sir E. BoyleThe Answer to the first part of the Question, which involves a number of figures, is given below.
The Answer to the second part of the Question is that the increase in payments of preference and ordinary dividends by British companies before tax from 1946 to 1955 was 57½ per cent.
The Answer to the third and fourth parts of the Question is that comparable figures for the first and second quarters of 1956 are not available.
Following is the Answer to the first part of the Question:
The total amounts paid in preference and ordinary dividends, before tax, by British companies, in the years 1946 to 1955, are estimated as follows:
£ million 1946 … … … … 484 1947 … … … … 515 1948 … … … … 512 1949 … … … … 494 1950 … … … … 507 1951 … … … … 547 1952 … … … … 532 1953 … … … … 584 1954 … … … … 666 1955 … … … … 762 These figures are affected by successive acts of nationalisation and denationalisation; they relate to all companies in private ownership in each year.