MONDAY, NOVEMBER 15: Bermuda Commercial Bank has bounced back to an annual profit and will pay its first dividend in two years.

BCB posted net profit of $1.18 million for the year ended September 30, rebounding from a loss of $0.38 million last year. The BCB board has approved a dividend of ten cents per share, payable on November 30.

It was a second-half turnaround for BCB, which made a loss of nearly $1.5 million in the first six months of the fiscal year. In a statement released this morning, BCB chairman Michael Collier said the bank had returned to profit in the second half of the year, largely as a result of investing its own capital in a portfolio of international bonds.

The bank also realised gains by selling some of its investments.

BCB sold a controlling interest to Permanent Investments Ltd. in April this year. Permanent built up its stake to 78 percent through a tender offer to shareholders the following month.

For much more on this see tomorrow’s Business section in The Royal Gazette