Island Press (Holdings), the publisher of The Bermuda Sun, yesterday announced that its first half profit sank by 75 percent and it suffered a loss from operations of $24,795.

Three days after Bermuda Press (Holdings) announced lower results, Island Press president Randolph French said his company incurred an operating loss of $24,795 during the six months ended March 31.

But the company nevertheless managed to pull in a profit of $52,268, although the figure is far below the $211,086 reported last year.

In a report to the Bermuda Stock Exchange, Mr. French said sales, which were recorded at $4,785,216, decreased 1.6 percent compared with the period during the previous year.

He said the downturn was due to a drop in commercial print sales, which fell because significant jobs from the 2000 financial year were not repeated in 2001.

The loss was mitigated by advertising revenues, which rose during the period.

But rental income for the company declined by 15 percent during the period and administrative costs for the publishing company rose by the same amount.

Mr. French said Island Press was looking for opportunities to diversify its lines of business to compensate for the changing marketplace.