Long Botham Boats Company Limited, the holding company for the Henry VIII Pub and Restaurant, Henry's Pantry and the Horseshoe Bay Beach concession has seen its profits dip.

But in a statement to the Bermuda Stock Exchange on first quarter results, the company said the decline was "dramatically less than projected" in the post-September 11 tourism climate.

W. Paul King, president and chief executive officer said that the company `s profit of $651,695.00, represented a modest decline of $14,057.00 on the previous year. He said that the management was able to offset a significant reduction in income by significantly reducing expenditure.

Mr King said that the company also benefited greatly from the Government initiated payroll tax relief, which proved to be "a blessing in a difficult year".

On a brighter note, the company's long-term debt has been reduced by $615,822.00 from $1,573,267.00 in 1999 to $957.445.00 as of 30th June 2002.