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HEI beats forecasts;
stock soars 7.3 percent

An improving economy and
American Savings Bank gains
helped earnings rise 39.4%

By Russ Lynch
Star-Bulletin

Shares of Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc. climbed 7.3 percent today after the company reported a 39.4 percent rise in first-quarter earnings, well above analysts' expectations.

HEI closed at $36, up $2.44 on the New York Stock Exchange. The stock is up more than 24 percent so far this year. It is up 9 percent from a year ago.

HEI said late yesterday that it earned $29 million, or 90 cents a share, in the three months through March 31, up from $20.8 million, or 65 cents a share, in the equivalent quarter of last year.

The company was expected to earn 70 cents a share, according to the average estimate of four Wall Street analysts.

First-quarter revenues of $289.4 million were up 21.7 percent from $237.8 million in the 1999 quarter.

The company's earnings from its utility subsidiaries were up strongly as a result of continued improvement in the Hawaii economy, said Robert F. Clarke, chairman, president and chief executive officer.

Net income from the electric utility business was $23.7 million in the latest quarter, up 38.6 percent from $17.1 million in the year-earlier period.

Like Hawaii's other financial institutions, HEI's American Savings Bank subsidiary also had a big improvement.

The bank's net income for the latest quarter was $11.2 million, up 31.8 percent from $8.5 million in the year-earlier quarter.

The Hawaii banks that have reported their first-quarter earnings so far have all shown profit increases.