Polaris Holding Company Ltd, parent company to Stevedoring Services Limited and East End Asphalt Company Limited, has reported a gain of $726,000 for the six months ended September 30.

The company said that the result was a welcome turnaround from fiscal 2021’s bruising year where Polaris posted polar opposite results, losing $727,000 over the first half of the year.

Polaris said that the worldwide Covid-19 pandemic that began affecting Bermuda in March 2020 saw Stevedoring Services’ ocean freight volumes drop last year, and many customers defer paving contracts with East End Asphalt.

But it said that fiscal 2022’s first half has reflected a modicum of normalcy with 20ft-equivalent container movements climbing to 17,986 over the six-month period, up 11.7 per cent year over year.

East End Asphalt’s revenue rebounded by $1.29 million, or 103.5 per cent, over the first six months of fiscal 2022, with the company reporting $2.54 million in first-half revenue compared with $1.25 million in fiscal 2021.

Polaris’s consolidated revenue in the first half ended September 30 was $8.49 million, up $2.14 million from the prior year’s six-month top line of $6.35 million.

In addition to revenue growth, the company said, it has shed redundant costs and added operating efficiencies, most notably restructuring Stevedoring Services’ garage operations.

The year’s brighter outlook has facilitated the company restoring its dividend which was deferred during the four quarters of fiscal 2021.

After issuing a dividend of eight cents per share on June 30, the company said, it paid a second-quarter dividend of 10 cents per share on September 28, and is anticipated to continue that distribution in quarters three and four.

The last time Polaris was able to provide consistent dividend distributions of 10 cents per quarter was fiscal 2009, the company said.

The results were reported in a filing with the Bermuda Stock Exchange.

In addition to Stevedoring Services and East End Asphalt, Polaris operates Mill Reach Holding Company Limited, which holds real estate located at Mill Reach Lane, Pembroke.

It also operates Equipment Sales and Rentals Limited, a company that owns and leases heavy operating machinery and equipment to Stevedoring Services.

All entities are wholly owned by Polaris with consolidated results incorporated in its unaudited September 30 financial statements.