Bermuda Aviation Services has boosted income to $1.27 million in the six-month period to September — a 60 percent increase over the previous year.

Ian Cook, BAS group president and CEO, said the firm had managed to increase sales — despite tough economic times.

Mr Cook added: “At this stage, no one will require reminding of the state of the local economy. It is more inhospitable than it was one year ago.

“In an adverse economic climate, our response has been to increase sales.”

And he predicted: “Management anticipates that the remainder of the financial year will continue to be affected by a sluggish economy.”

Mr Cook said revenues had increased by $8 million over the prior year. boosted by the addition of three companies, IT and communications company CSS, mechanical engineers Eff-Tech and BESCO, an energy engineering firm.

He added: “CSS continues to raise the bar in one of the most challenging environments. Consequently gross profit increased by nearly $2 million and income from continuing operations increased by 62 percent.”

And he said: “We continue to be guardedly optimistic that some exciting opportunities will be generated for BAS by utilising the synergistic services base and skill sets offered by the BAS group of companies.”

He added: “The strength of BAS rests in its diverse, but synergistic, group of companies. This diversity has served to offset the exposures that some of our subsidiaries face.”

He explained that cargo handling services had been hit by a slowdown in retail — but that parts of the group dealing with IT, vehicles and facilities maintenance had either “performed to or outperformed management’s expectations.”

Mr Cook said: “Other segments of our operations are still contributing positively to the group. This diversity has allowed the group to mitigate some of the market risk associated with the struggling local economy.”

Mr Cook added that operating expenses had increased from the previous year, due to the addition of Eff-Tech and BESCO.

But he said: “Management constantly reviews and rationalises the operations of the various subsidiaries with a view to generating economies of scale and cost curtailments.”

Mr Cook added there had been “moderate” growth in total assets, which stand at nearly $4 million.

He said: “While the cash position has decreased from last year, the receivables have grown by over $7 million. We are encouraged by the growth in receivables as our costumiers continue to utilise our services.

“However, we are mindful that they must be monitored to reduce any potential exposure. We have managed to keep our liabilities in check.

“The only noticeable liability increase relates to deferred revenue. This in indicative of the increased pipeline of work that we have managed to generate over the prior period.”