Bermuda’s construction pipeline helped keep up the amount of cargo at Polaris Holding Co during the past financial year, although the group’s net profit fell by almost half from the exceptional results a year earlier.

Polaris, the parent company of Stevedoring Services Ltd, Surface Experts Ltd, Duck’s Puddle Properties Ltd and Ornamental Concrete Products Ltd, reported net profit of $841,000 for the year ended March 31, down from $1.62 million in fiscal 2025.

Earnings per share declined to 70 cents from $1.36.

However, the company’s shipping and stevedoring business handled more containers and substantially more break-bulk cargo, pointing to activity in Bermuda’s hotel, housing and commercial-development sectors.

Container volumes rose 3.7 per cent to 36,036 20-foot equivalent units, or TEUs, during the year. Break-bulk volumes — cargo shipped outside containers such as building supplies and machinery — climbed 13.4 per cent to 29,994 freight tons.

Polaris said the increase in break-bulk imports was driven largely by construction materials for major hotel renovations, mixed-use commercial and residential developments, and affordable-housing projects in the second half of the year.

The additional activity supported revenue at Stevedoring Services Ltd, which remained profitable despite what Polaris described as a challenging operating environment.

Surface Experts also ended the year in profit after its turnaround in fiscal 2025. Its performance was weaker than the previous year, however, when results were boosted by work connected with the airport runway rehabilitation project.

Polaris kept its quarterly dividend at five cents per share and paid a special dividend of 10 cents per share in October. Total dividends for the year came to 30 cents per share, up 50 per cent from 20 cents in fiscal 2025.

Randy Rochester, the chief executive of Polaris, said: “Our performance over the past year underscores the resilience of our business model and the effectiveness of our strategy. We remain focused on executing our growth priorities, allocating capital prudently and creating long-term value for our shareholders.”