Bermuda Home has declared net income of $4,840,559 for the six months to September 30.

That represented a 2.6 percent improvement over the $4.7 million reported in the same period last year, after the company actually trimmed costs by just over two percent.

Bermuda Home president Arthur Haycock attributed improved earnings to higher interest income from mortgages and loans and from real estate sales and service at subsidiary, Bermuda Realty Co.

He said, "The mortgage and loan demand continued at last year's strong pace with mortgage closings of $38,444,000 and new loans granted of $6,643,000.

"Customer deposit growth was greater than expected and higher than in the first six months of last year.

"Fees and commissions earned by Bermuda Realty Co. were some $222,000 higher than last year with sales, property management and appraisals and rentals all contributing to this growth.

"Total assets at September 30, 1998 were $588,208,000, an increase of 8.74 percent over last year. Loans and mortgages outstanding increased 7.75 percent, while cash and deposits with banks increased 14.2 percent.

"Customer deposits grew 8.3 percent to $520,000,000, while total shareholders' equity rose 9.25 percent to $60,144,000.'' Bermuda Home had total revenue of nearly $8.9 million, up marginally from more than $8.8 million, as the company held the line on costs. Total operating expenses actually fell slightly from more than $4.1 million to more than $4 million.

The company's earnings per share rose from 93 cents for the comparative period to 97 cents for the six months this year. Fully diluted earnings per share rose from 84 cents to 88 cents.

The common share dividend per share went from 22 cents to 24 cents, representing a total dividend of $1,105,791, up from $1,023,949.

The preferred share dividend in total decreased from $367,810 to $356,785, as the per share figure remained at 40 cents.