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    "label": "Report, December 31, 1948",
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    "title": "Report, December 31, 1948",
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        "Safety Light Collection",
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    "ocrText": "To the Stockholders of\nUnited States Radium Corporation\nThe year 1948 was, for our Corporation, a difficult one due primarily to the compli-\ncations arising from the construction of the new Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania plant, the\ntraining of a completely new group of employees, the transfer and housing of supervisory\npersonnel, the moving and erection of equipment and the necessity for accomplishing\nthis without cessation of operations. Virtually all production, with the exception of the\nmanufacture of Phosphors and X-Ray Screens, has now been transferred to these new\nfacilities, and it is believed that the move will result in a significant increase in efficiency\nand reduction of operating costs.\nProfits for the year, after taxes and all charges, amounted to $29,950.00, or after\npayment of Preferred dividends, to 40c per outstanding Common share. Dividends in\nthe amount of $17,766.00 or 306 per Common share and $6,097.00 or $7.00 per Preferred\nshare were paid during the year on the Corporation's outstanding shares, and $6,087.00\nwas added to Earned Surplus account. While these figures are relatively unsatisfactory,\nit should be remembered that they reflect certain non-recurring expenses and write-offs\nresulting from the transfer of operations to the new location.\nDue, primarily, to increases in labor and material costs during the construction\nperiod, the cost of the Bloomsburg plant exceeded estimates by a substantial amount.\nYour Management accordingly decided to recommend the omission of the Common\nStock dividend in the interest of maintaining a sound working capital position, pending\na clearer appraisal of total capital expenditures required, as well as of future profits from\noperations.\nPrior to the war, the fortunes of the Corporation were largely dependent on the\nradium treatment of dials and pointers for the watch and clock, and to a lesser degree,\nthe military aircraft industries. Severe production curtailment, such as is being currently\nexperienced by the clock industry, was reflected immediately in a reduction of our Corpora-\ntion's sales volume and profits. Since the war, it has been the policy of your Manage-\nment to correct this condition through the development of new products which can\nbe\nprofitably manufactured and sold, and which, it is hoped, will provide needed diversifica-\ntion and stability. Among the products which were either newly introduced to the\ntrade, or of which sales were substantially expanded during the year, are: Television\nPhosphors, Neutron Sources, Standards for Radiation Counters, and Static Eliminators.\nResearch was conducted in connection with the possible commercial application of certain\nradioactive Isotopes; and a laboratory for the manufacture of Fluoroscopic and Intensify-\ning X-Ray Screens equipped and staffed on leased premises in Bernardsville, New Jersey.\nCertain changes reflecting an improvement in the Corporation's working capital\nposition occurred during the first half of 1949, and are accordingly not reflected in the\naccompanying year-end Balance Sheet. The Corporation's holdings in the Weksler\nThermometer Corporation were disposed of under an agreement whereby the Common\nStock was sold for what in effect is a gross cash amount of $56,000.00 and under which\nthe Preferred Stock, having a par value of $53,100.00, is to be purchased or retired at par\nover a seven year period. Real estate holdings in Orange, New Jersey, carried on the\nbooks at $9,236.00, were also sold for $13,125.00.\nIn May 1949, the suit which has been pending in the United States Tax Court, and\nto which reference has been made in several previous reports, was settled on what is\nconsidered by your Management to be a favorable basis. The net effect of this settlement,\nafter provision for counsel fees and New York State Income Taxes, should be to increase\nthe Corporation's cash position by $80,000.00. Payment is anticipated before the\nyear's end.\nAt the March meeting of the Board of Directors of the Corporation, provision was\nmade for changing the date of the Annual Meeting from the second Wednesday in\nJanuary to the third Wednesday in April in order that final audited figures might be\navailable for inspection and discussion at this meeting.\nRespectfully submitted,\nE. B. FISHER, President\nJune 22, 1949\nBy order of the Board of Directors."
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