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‘New Era’ plan lifts
Pacific Century net

By Russ Lynch
Star-Bulletin

Shares of Bank of Hawaii's parent Pacific Century Financial Corp. rose 5 percent this morning after the company announced a 12.4 percent increase in first-quarter profit, beating analysts' expectations.

The banking company said yesterday it had a first-quarter profit of $39.8 million, up from $35.4 million a year earlier. The profit was equal to 50 cents a share, up 13.6 percent from 44 cents a share in the first quarter of 1999.

Lawrence M. Johnson, chairman and chief executive officer, said the improvement shows the effectiveness of Pacific Century's "New Era" plan. Announced in September, the restructuring plan cut 1,015 positions, or about 20 percent of the company's work force, and included 266 layoffs. It also involved offering new services and beefing up its Internet and loan-by-phone services.

"The implementation of New Era redesign initiatives is delivering the intended positive results," Johnson said.

In New York Stock Exchange trading today, Pacific Century shares rose $1 to close at $20.94. The company's 50-cents-a-share earnings beat the average estimate of 47.8 cents by 10 Wall Street analysts who follow the company.

The company's stock is up more than 12 percent so far this year.

Pacific Century's expenses other than interest costs were trimmed to $126.1 million in the quarter that ended March 31, down 6.5 percent from $134.8 million a year ago.

The "New Era" restructuring will be finished by the end of the third quarter, the company said.

Total assets on March 31 were $14.25 billion, down 4.5 percent from a year-earlier $14.93 billion. The company said the decline was mainly a result of cuts in Pacific Century's securities investments and its loans in Asia.

Those trims cut into net interest income, which was down 3 percent at $139.5 million in the latest quarter, from $143.8 million in the 1999 period.

Net loans at the end of the latest quarter were $9.3 billion, down up 1 percent from $9.2 billion at the end of the first quarter of 1999. Total deposits were $9.1 billion, down 3.2 percent from a year-earlier total of $9.4 billion.