The Goderich Signal-Star, 1981-02-04, Page 15fi
USW
Municipal D
GODERICH SIGNALSTAR, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 1981—PAGE 15
y Nursery spellsloving fun
Children find a quick hug and lots of warmth from Evelyn McDonagh
and all the others who care for them everyday.
Photos by Cath Wooden
Sometimes it's more fun to lounge around
and watch the other kids play.
Tabatha shyly displays her morning `work'.
Painting a masterpiece for
loin takes great concentration.
Boys are happiest when their feet are not on the ground.
Domtar 1980 earnings higher than year before
Domtar Inc. recently
reported earnings before ex-
traordinary items of $96.6
million or $5.78 per common
share versus $97.9 million or
$6.57 per share earned in
1979.
The earnings per share
reflect the issue of 2.6 million
common shares during the
first quarter of 1980 and the
shares issued as a result of a
Stock Dividend Plan.
After the extraordinary
net loss of $0.12 per share on
the closure of the corpora-
tion's fine paper mill in the
United Kingdom minus the
profit on the sale of the in-
vestment in the United
States based Consoweld Cor-
poration, net earnings totall-
ed $94.6 million or $5.66 per
common share.
Excluding the impact of
strikes at the Ontario fine
paper mills' and Quebec
lumber operations and the
extraordinary items, dollar
earnings were marginally
higher than in 1979.
Factors which increased
earnings were:
Improved margins for
pulp, newsprint, foe papers,
recycled linerboard, kraft
papers and Chemicals Group
products.
Increased sales volume to
offshore markets for lumber
and carbon black feedstocks
and in North America for
groundwood specialties, Ar-
borlte R, Cladboard R,
specialty chemicals, treated
railway ties and cotnPosite
earn.
Maher short term invest-
ment income due to an in-
creased level of cash on hand
throughout the year as the
corporation financed in ad-
vance for its capital invest-,
ment program.
Reduced interest on in-
debtedness resulting from
the capitalization of interest
on major capital projects in
1980.
However, offsetting these
improvements was the coo:
bined impact of the
economic downturn and the
depressed level of con-
struction activity in North
America which resulted in
reduced margins for lumber
and gypsum wallboard and
lower sales volume of lime,
gypsum wallboard, insula-
tion products and masonry
products.
Fourth quarter 1980 earn-
ings before an extraordinary
item amounted to $22.4
million or $1.27 per common
share, down from $28.3
million or $1.90 per share
recorded for the correspon-
ding period of 1979.
The corporation's sales
and 'other income for 1980
totalled $1,669 million, an in-
crease of about 11 percent
over the 1979 figure of
$1,504.1 million.
After an extraordinary
gain on the sale of a 26 per-
cent investment in the
shares - of Consoweld Cor-
poration, net earnings for
the quarter were $25.2
million or $1.44 per common
share.
In its report to
shareholders for the fourth
quarter, Domtar points out
that although improvements
were achieved due to:
Increased sales volume
primarily of pulp, salt, tar
products and fire retardant
ceiling panels.
Improved margins for
recycled linerboard and
kraft papers..
Higher income from short
term investments.
Write down of certain fix-
ed assets to disposable
values in 1979 with no similar
write down in 1980.
They were more than off-
set by:
Losses resulting from
strikes at the corporation's
Ontario fine paper mills and
two of its lumber operations
in Quebec.
Losses incurred at the
United Kingdom fine paper
mill prior to its closure.
Bd.-4)f Ed.
Reduced margins for pulp,
gypsum wallboard and roof-
ing products.
Lower sales volume of
lime and treated wood pro-
ducts and of gypsum
wallboard in the United
States.
Although Domtar in-
dicates that slow growth and
inflation, high interest rates
and an unfavourable labour
climate are likelyto have an
impact on its businesses dur-
ing 1981, the corporation ex-
pects its capital outlays
between 1981 and 1985 to
substantially exceed the ap-
proximately $470 million ex-
pended for the five-year
period which ended
December 31, 1980. Several
major projects have been
scheduled for completion
and Domtar also expects to
make additional capital ex-
penditures of up to approx-
imately $75 million on its gas
and oil investments.
Clinton Optimists will try
to revive Winter Carnival
By Jtm Fitzgerald
The weather may be cold and snowy, but
it's just about perfect for a Winter Car-
nival, and the Clinton Optimist club are
hoping the conditions stay favorable for
their Carnival this Friday, Saturday, and
Sunday.
The Optimists are trying to revive the
once popular event after a . three-year
lapse, but are doing it on a more modest
scale, with a•three-day event instead of a
ten-day event.
Most of the events will be held at the
Clinton Community Park and arena.
More grappling with levies
Sometime during 1981 the Huron County Board of
Education will grapple with the problem of collection
of education levies.
The board is one of only three boards in the
province collecting education taxes just twice a year.
Besides the Huron Board, the Perth County Board
and the Huron -Perth Separate School Board, are the
only other boards in the province collecting education
taxes wice a year.
At t i get time last year the board considered
collecting taxes from the county's 28 municipalities
four times a year but met with stiff opposttim f%,
clerks and politicians, who said it was difficult for
rural municipalities to collect taxes more than twice
a year.
Blyth trustee, John Elliott, said it was an issue the
board would have to deal with in 1981 adding that
"either everyone else in the province is out of step or
we are."
The board could save money in borrowing costs by
collecting four times a year but the townships argued
it would simply pass on borrowing costs to therm and
subnegnenttyt hero Ayers,
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