The Big Island macadamia nut grower had a profit of $527,000, or 7 cents a share, for the three months ended Sept. 30, compared with a profit in the year-earlier quarter of $349,000, or 5 cents a share (technically a Class A partnership unit.)

Macadamia nut sales of $4.3 million were up 10.3 percent from $3.9 million a year earlier.

Kent T. Lucien, Mauna Loa president, said the earlier than normal third quarter production offset light spring production in the first quarter of this year. The result was a dip in nine-months earnings to $353,000, from $467,000 last year. Nine-months revenues were $6.3 million, down from $6.5 million last year.

Third quarter production was a record 7.7 million pounds because of favorable weather and the increasing maturity of the orchards, Lucien said.

Mauna Loa is the world's largest grower of macadamia nuts, operating on more than 4,000 acres of orchards on the Big Island.

The partnership units are traded like shares and are listed under the symbol NUT on the New York Stock Exchange.