Bermuda Commercial Bank parent company Bermuda National has posted a first-half profit of $3.1 million based on strong performance by the bank.BNL’s profit for the quarter ended March 31 was $105,762.Major subsidiary BCB recorded a profit of $0.7 million and total income of $5 million in the quarter ended March 31.BCB profit for the six months ended March 31 was $5.1 million, compared to $3.2 million in 2012, and total income was $14 million, compared to $10.2 million in the 2012 period.The bank reported capital of $112.1 million at March 31, compared to $104.8 million at September 30, 2012.“The company’s performance in the second quarter continues to be driven by BCB which recorded net income in the quarter of $0.7 million before accounting for unrealised gains from its investment portfolio which for the first half of the year amounted to $5.2 million,” BNL said.BNL said BCB’s capital ratio was in excess of 20 percent and tier one ratio 22 percent.Commenting on the results, BNL chairman Warren McLeland said: “The Company’s principal subsidiary, BCB, continues to grow and it is pleasing to see an increased deposit base and the continued strong performance of its investment portfolio resulting in a significant increase in comprehensive income.“The highlight in the second quarter was the announcement of the proposed acquisition of JO Hambro. We anticipate that this will be a significant acquisition for the company and we hope will improve the returns to all shareholders.”The company said other investments continue to perform in line with expectations.It said it had completed the issue of bonus warrants to qualifying shareholders on a one for three basis with an exercise price of $12 per share, to provide the company with additional funding to be used to part fund the acquisition of JO Hambro; and payment of an interim dividend to shareholders of $0.12 per share.BNL said its share of the losses incurred by Westhouse in the second quarter was $0.4 million.The company said: “This is a significant reduction in the size of the loss compared to the first quarter when the company’s share of losses incurred by Westhouse was $1.2 million. The company’s other investments continue to perform in line with expectations.”Westhouse is a private corporate and institutional stockbroking group in London in which BNL has an equity interest of approximately 46 percent.BNL said trading conditions continue to be difficult for Westhouse.Consistent with its stated strategy to make investments and acquisitions in the financial services sector, BNL said it was pleased to announce on March 28, the proposed acquisition of JO Hambro for a total cash consideration of £50 million.The acquisition still remains subject to UK regulatory approval and post completion, BNL will own 62.5 percent of JO Hambro’s issued share capital with the balance owned by JO Hambro’s management and staff.“This proposed acquisition is a significant strategic step for BNL as it is acquiring a well known UK private wealth asset manager with a strong track record,” BNL said.Payroll costs for the quarter were $2.4 million (2012: $2.1 million). This increase resulted from an increased employee headcount following the broadening and strengthening of the bank’s employee base in response to an increase in customers and expanding business requirements.Loans and advances were $43 million at March 31, 2013 up from $34.2 million at year-end. The bank is not active in the credit market, but has provided a small number of loan and overdraft facilities. The increase resulted from new overdraft facilities and increased drawdown of existing loan and overdraft facilities.Total customer deposit balances increased to $510.3 million from $457.5 million at September 30, 2012. This increase, BNL said, was driven by the operational activities of a small number of large customers and it is anticipated that balances will shortly revert to the previous year-end levels. Excluding these large transactional items, BCB’s customer position as measured by its key customer performance metrics, customer numbers and customer concentration, remained at similar levels to the year end.