Property firm West Hamilton Holdings has posted profits of $346,381 for the six months to the end of March.

The figure is more than $66,000 up on the $280,330 recorded for the same period the previous year.

A company statement said that total revenue for the period was about $106 million, a marginal increase in comparison to same period in 2015.

It added: “Rental income from the first half of 2016 improved primarily because of full occupancy from office spaces and the parking garage, although rental rates continue to be under pressure due to the protracted softness of the commercial real estate market in Bermuda.”

The statement said that a new tenant had moved into the only available space in the company’s Belvedere Building on Pitts Bay Road on a short-term lease towards the end of the reporting period, which is expected to improve rental income figures for the remainder of the year.

But the statement said: “The expected increase in rental revenue will be negatively impacted by the termination of a lease for 4,400 sq ft of space previously occupied by a reinsurance company.”

The company added that demand for parking spaces at its car park had increased and there was now a waiting list of 70 drivers.

The report said: “Planning permission to increase the number of parking bays is in the final stage and construction to expand the parking facility is expected to start in 2016.”

Total shareholder equity at the end of March was $21.14 million, up 1.7 per cent on the $20.31 million for same period in 2015.

Book value per share was $7.27, compared to the $6.94 recorded at the end of last September, an increase of 33 cents per share or 4.75 per cent.

Full assets amounted to $34.5 million, compared to $30.3 million at the end of the last fiscal year, an increase of 13.8 per cent and shareholder equity increased by $339,064 or 1.1 per cent.

Current assets, including cash and assets that could be quickly sold off, amounted to $504,900 compared to $2.93 million at the end of September 2015.

The report said: “The company generated free cash flow during the period and the cash balance available at the end of the previous period was primarily used to fund the construction of Belvedere Residences.”

The block of apartments is expected to be finished by August, with revisions to include the change of use of the penthouse to office accommodation.

The statement added that the Belvedere office block was appraised by a real estate firm in 2015 and valued at between $44.9 million and $45.3 million.

West Hamilton Holdings said: “Management has taken a prudent view considering the state of the Bermuda property market and is of the opinion that a value of approximately $44.9 million represents a reasonable estimate of the fair value of the property.

“Using this fair value estimate, the total assets of the company on a market value basis would be approximately $45.8 million.”