The payment resulted from the fact that his three-year contract had some time to run. When challenged as to why the " pasty-faced " directors were not more representative of the public, Sir Nicholas replied: " If we meet someone outside Scottish and English nationality who meets our requirements they would be welcomed. So far that has not been so. " Elsewhere in his address he lamented the drop in property values after the last election which he admitted was " particularly annoying " and not at all expected.
But he believed that the subsequent provisions for bad debts on commercial loans were realistic. Sir Nicholas drew encouragement from the low level of provisions required on mortgages granted to retail customers which he said underlined the reliability of the TSB's traditional customer base. Accounting changes and interest flatter Invergordon profits By Bill Millar BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT INVERGORDON Distillers provided some distraction yesterday from the current difficulties afflicting the Scotch whisky industry with moderately improved full-year results. But, though pre-tax profits for the year ending 31 December showed a technical increase of 16.1 per cent from 2010 $28 million that year's profits figure was arrived at having been restated after an exceptional deduction of $4.2 million. The figure related to the costs of the previous year's bid defence against the hostile takeover attempt by Whyte & Mackay and had to be taken above the line as a result of the FRS 3 accounting rule. Accordingly, the 2011 pre-tax profits of $32.5 million were really up only 1 per cent on figures for 2010 which would otherwise have been shown as $32.2 million. The pre-tax figure was also helped by interest charges, down by 37.8 per cent from $4.5 million to $2.8 million. Invergordon did not have an easy time of it in 2011, a fact reflected both by turnover, down 8 per cent at $85 million, and operating profits, down 3.8 per cent at $35.3 million. Though the group's branded business grew, the main problem was a 14 per cent drop in the sale of bulk whisky overseas, partly because the company had been undercut by other suppliers and also because the export market for bulk product cut its stocks in anticipation of price cuts.
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