Devonshire Industries Ltd. reported its best profit in the last five years when it posted earnings of $465,000 last week.

The parent company of Bermuda Paint revealed a 41.4 percent increase in net income compared to 2003, over which the company saw net income of $328,743. Devonshire Industries deputy chairman David Gutteridge told : ?Two things drove sales in the current year: number one, the construction industry was very strong.

?There were many new buildings, and as a result, there was a lot of new painting that had to be done.

? Secondly, there was the damage from Fabian, and so we saw an increase in painting after Fabian, when people started making their repairs.?

Mr. Gutteridge also said that the company?s ?innovative and proactive sales staff? had to be acknowledged for driving the volume of sales up.

Net revenues for 2004 totalled $3 million, compared to 2003?s $2.6 million, with total operating expenses of $2.65 million, which is just up from $2.35 million in 2003.

Mr. Gutteridge explained that the company is ?in the midst of a long term refurbishment plan?, which it is doing in stages. The biggest project includes improvements to the company?s Devonshire plant. Mr. Gutteridge said: ?We are encouraged that we have a strong future in front of us.

?We have a good sales staff that is proactive in its thinking.

?They?re working very hard to service the needs of our customers, so we hope to continue to see increased sales in the future.?

The company?s assets to date total $3.14 million, which is an increase from $3.12 million in 2003.