HC Deb 15 December 1978 vol 960 cc661-3W
Mr. John Moore

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he will publish in the Official Report a table showing for each year since 1945 in terms of 1977 prices (a) the net profits of companies and financial institutions operating in the United Kingdom, (b) the net profits of companies operating in the United Kingdom as a percentage of the gross domestic product at factor cost, (c) the net profits of companies and financial institutions operating in the United Kingdom as a percentage of the gross domestic product at market prices and (d) the net profits of companies and financial institutions operating in the United Kingdom as a percentage of the gross national product ;

(2) if he will publish in the Official Report a table showing for each year since 1945 (a) the net profits of companies and financial institutions operating in the United Kingdom, (b) the net profits of companies and financial institutions operating in the United Kingdom as a percentage of the gross domestic product at factor cost, (c) the net profits of companies and financial institutions operating in the United Kingdom as a percentage of the gross domestic product at market prices and (d) the net profits of companies and financial institutions operating in the United Kingdom as a percentage of the gross national product.

Mr. Denzil Davies:

The available information is given in the following table. There is no specific price index for converting figures of company profits to a constant price basis ; but in order to give a broad indication of movements in profits in real terms the current price estimates have been converted to constant 1977 prices using the deflator underlying the Central Statistical Office's estimates of year-to-year changes in the internal purchasing power of the pound. As there is no unique deflator, the percentage shares which the profits of companies and financial institutions represent in the gross domestic product and gross national product have been calculated in terms of

TRADING PROFITS COMPANIES AND FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS
Gross trading profits, net of stock application (£ million)
a) as percentage of:
Gross domestic product
At current prices At 1977 prices At factor cost* At market prices* Gross national product cost*
(a) (b) (c) (d) (e)
1949 1,673 8,805 15.2 13.4 14.9
1950 1,686 8,602 14.8 13.0 14.3
1951 2,018 9,474 16.0 14.0 15.5
1952 2,204 9,752 16.0 14.1 15.7
1953 2,357 10,248 16.1 14.2 15.8
1954 2,523 10,782 16.2 14.1 15.9
1955 2,767 11,434 16.4 14.5 16.3
1956 2,769 10,945 15.3 13.5 15.1
1957 2,934 11,241 15.4 13.6 15.2
1958 3,001 11,198 15.1 13.4 14.9
1959 3,240 12,000 15.5 13.7 15.3
1960 3,653 13,381 16.1 14.3 15.9
1961 3,518 12,564 14.6 13.0 14.5
1962 3,485 11,976 13.9 12.3 13.7
1963 3,968 13,360 14.8 13.1 14.6
1964 4,309 14,036 14.9 13.1 14.7
1965 4,505 14,034 14.4 12.6 14.2
1966 4,295 12,859 13.0 11.4 12.9
1967 4,476 13,088 13.0 11.3 12.8
1968 4,784 13,363 12.9 11.1 12.8
1969 5,077 13,467 12.9 10.8 12.6
1970 5,092 12,667 11.6 9.9 11.5
1971 5,807 13,198 11.9 10.2 11.8
1972 6,433 13,658 11.6 10.1 11.5
1973 6,605 12,850 10.4 9.2 10.2
1974 4,718 7,916 6.5 5.8 6.4
1975 5,523 7,453 6.0 5.4 6.0
1976 7,408 8,584 6.8 6.1 6.8
1977 10,767 10,767 8.8 7.7 8.8
* Based on income data.
Source: Derived from National Income and Expenditure 1967–77 and latest estimates.