On the eve of an ambitious scheme to begin publishing its weekly newspaper twice-weekly, Island Press (Holdings) Ltd. has again declared a net loss for the year. The annual results for the year to September 30, 1997 are being released this month, nearly six months after the end of the fiscal year.

Bermuda Stock Exchange officials are trying to improve the time frame when listed companies present pertinent information to the public. The company has declared a net loss for the year of $95,000, half as bad as the year before when the company lost $182,000. Losses from operations amounted to $57,000, an improvement over the previous year's losses from operations of $105,000. The Bermuda Sun, which is owned by Island Press, is set to begin publishing twice a week -- on Wednesdays and Fridays -- beginning on April 1. A perennial loser on the bottom line, the company was driven in the red this time because of an amortization payment of $788,000, what the company termed "the cost of investment in the future.'' And this year the organisation spent an additional $390,000 of investment in new equipment and are anticipating "an unassailable competitive advantage'' in the future. Island Press initiated a capital investment programme some years ago and the "burdensome financing and amortization costs'' of the programme "so far have not been adequately offset by increased revenues and cost reduction.'' The director's report did indicate an increase in advertising revenue for the newspaper, although the firm's most successful market in the past, large scale commercial printing, is under the greatest competitive pressure from here and abroad. Chairman Warren A. Brown blamed a "fundamental loss of volume in this market, driven by over-capacity in our local market and the ease of printing overseas in lower cost areas.'' The balance sheet shows a decline in assets from $7.3 million to $6.9 million and a decline in book value per share from $8.34 to $8.06. Sales from printing and publishing rose from nearly $6.8 million to nearly $7.5 million. There was an expression of tempered optimism for the firm's future in the director's report. New initiatives included the recent purchase of the tourist guide book, Preview Bermuda. Mr. Brown, deputy chairman David Dodwell and director Randy French were all unavailable for comment yesterday.