Bermuda Aviation Services Ltd has suspended dividend payments to shareholders amid an in-depth review of its businesses as it posted a half-year loss of $0.3 million.

The Bermuda Stock Exchange-listed company said the loss in the six months ended September 30 compared to net earnings of $1 million in the corresponding period last year.

Revenue for the group increased by $0.4 million to $18.6 million.

BAS attributed the fall in earnings to “increased cost of sales related to the successful support and provision of services for the America’s Cup event, the increase in competition squeezing margins across all group industries and a general tailing off of construction projects locally”.

The company added that it had paid out $0.5 million in dividends during the six-month period and that its board had decided “to temporarily suspend payment of a dividend commencing with the quarter ending December 2017”.

David Pugh, the executive chairman of BAS, said the board had started a strategic and functional review of the group earlier this year.

“This review and resulting plan, will provide the path to reposition the various subsidiaries in the changing Bermuda marketplace and streamline operations to improve overall profitability and shareholder return,” Mr Pugh said.

Mr Pugh is leading the review, which includes external consultants and advisers.

“Certain aspects of this review will be announced during the fourth quarter of the fiscal year 2017/18,” BAS said.

The facilities management operations grew revenues by $1.1 million during the six months, demonstrating modest growth.

BAS said its automotive sector had performed strongly. “Despite continued downward pressure on margins arising from increased competition, it continues to provide excellent service to its customers at reasonable prices,” the firm said.

Integrated Technology Solutions Ltd was this year merged into fellow BAS subsidiary CCS Group Ltd to achieve greater synergies. The one-off costs associated with this restructure were realised during the six-month period.