AFTER four years we meet again, and I am pleased to have the privilege of discussing with you again the affairs of Utah Construction & Mining Co. What has our company accomplished since last you bought my lunch? Among other things, we have: Earned a total of $8.21 a share in the four intervening years, an amount that it took us 8 1/2 years to make prior to our first meeting; Increased our dividend payout in each of these last 4 years and distributed $3.13 1/2 a share to our shareholders, a dividend payout per share greater than the amount we paid in the 12 preceding years; Added 50% to our book value per share; Increased our working capital one-third; Held our long-term loan steady but refunded the bulk of it on a 20-year basis; Increased our construction backlog, and very materially increased our forward sales of minerals; Brought into operation the eighth largest coal mine in the country and added substantially to our mineral reserves; And, regrettably, in the face of this record, witnessed a 33% decline in the quoted price of our shares. Gentlemen, it was a pretty expensive lunch! The character of Utah Construction & Mining Co. has changed significantly in the last 14 years and, indeed, in the last 4 years. In the first half century of its corporate existence it was primarily a heavy engineering contractor, a leader in its field, had built its original capital of $24,000 into a net worth of $9,900,000 after distributing $12,900,000 to its stockholders. Its total assets were $15,400,000, about 80% of which was invested in construction activities. Its earnings for the year 1949 were $1,180,000 with construction providing over three-quarters of the total. Today our net worth is over $67,000,000 and our total assets have increased to over $119,000,000. The assets which we have invested in construction are double those of 14 years ago, but now represent only 20% of our total assets. Investment in land and real estate would account for another 28%, while the remaining 52% is invested in mining and ocean shipping. As our assets have been expanded and diversified, the characteristics of our earnings have also radically changed. Let us take up in turn our three major activities construction, land development, and mining, with which for this purpose we shall associate ocean shipping. 1