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Sluggish home sales
hurt Castle & Cooke

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Star-Bulletin staff

Citing lower home sales volume as well as fallen unit prices on Oahu, plus an overall decline in its mainland residential business, Castle & Cooke Inc. reported a 32 percent decline in its net second-quarter net income to $2.7 million, or 16 cents a share, from a year-earlier $3.95 million, or 23 cents a share.

The dip came despite a lower operating loss from its resorts on Lanai, according to the financial report issued late Friday.

On Oahu, Castle & Cooke delivered 77 homes in the latest quarter, at an average price of $273,156, compared to 107 units in the year-earlier quarter, at an average price of $311,636.The Los Angeles-based company reported total second-quarter revenues of $79.4 million, down 3.1 percent from $81.9 million in the 1999 quarter.

Castle & Cooke Chairman David H. Murdock is expected to conclude his $655 million purchase of the company and take it private in early September.