Secretarial practice

Bibliographic data

Monograph

Identifikator:: 1828236004

URN:: urn:nbn:de:zbw-retromon-249926

Document type:: Monograph

Title:: Secretarial practice

Edition:: fourth edition

Place of publication:: Cambridge

Publisher:: W. Heffer & Sons Ltd

Year of publication:: 1930

Scope:: viii, 987 Seiten

Digitisation:: 2022

Collection:: Economics Books

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Document type:: Monograph

Structure type:: Chapter

Title:: Chapter XVII. Dividents

Collection:: Economics Books

DIVIDENDS [i either in the directors with the sanction of a general meeting, or in a general meeting of shareholders. Where the power is vested in a general meeting, it is commonly provided that no dividend shall be declared exceeding in amount that recom- mended by the directors. The directors are generally authorised by the articles to pay to the members such interim dividends as the profits of the company appear to them to justify. ALL dividends must be paid in cash, unless the articles authorise some other form of payment [Wood v. Odessa Waterworks Co. (1888), 42 Ch. D. 636]. Unless the regulations otherwise provide, dividends are payable in proportion to the nominal amount of share capital held by each shareholder, irrespective of the amount paid up. For example, A has ten £1 shares with 5s. paid up on each, B has ten £1 shares with 10s. paid up on each; a 10 per cent. dividend is declared; both A and B receive £1. [Oakbank Oil Co. v. Crum (1883), 8 A.C. 65; re Bridgewater Navigation Co. (1889), 14 A.C. 525]. The regulations of a company usually, however, provide for the payment of dividends in proportion to the amount of capital paid up by each share- holder, as permitted by s. 48 of the Act. Dividends must be paid in accordance with the rights of the shareholders as fixed by the memorandum or articles of association. Thus the capital of a company may be divided into shares of different classes, e.g. preference and ordinary shares, and dividends must be paid accordingly. As tc cumulative dividends see Chapter V. All dividends become due immediately they are declared, and they are treated for all purposes as a debt due from the company to the shareholders [Severn Railway Co. (1896), 1 Ch. 559], except that under most articles they do not bear interest against the company and that in a winding up they do not rank as debts in case of competition between a member and a creditor who is not a member [s. 157 (1) (g)]. Even if a dividend is declared payable in instalments the right to receive the whole dividend vests in the members immediately and a transfer of shares after such declaration does not pass the right to instalments subsequently pavable (re Kidner' Agreement (1929) 2 Ch. 121]. A dividend due will become barred by the Statute of Limitations if not claimed within twenty years from the date of declaration [Artisans Land Corporation (1904), 1 Ch. 796]. The length of time within which a dividend can be claimed is often provided for in the regulations of the company, the number of years varving in different companies. It is thought

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