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Matson, real
estate gains lift
A&B net

Company profits, which tripled
over the year-ago period, would be
flat without a '99 write-down

---

By Russ Lynch
Star-Bulletin

Alexander & Baldwin Inc. today reported a profit of $14.5 million, or 36 cents a share, for the fourth quarter of 2000, about triple the profit of $5 million, or 12 cents a share, for the year-earlier period.

However, the year-to-year comparison was distorted by a $9.6 million after-tax charge the company had taken in the 1999 fourth quarter, a write-down of its investment in a Kauai coffee business.

Without that, the profit in the 1999 period would have been $14.6 million, so the latest quarter's result actually would have been down very slightly.

A&B had strong results from its major operations, bringing its operating profit up 9.5 percent to $32.2 million in the latest quarter from $29.4 million, without the coffee charge, in the year-earlier period.

Matson Navigation Co., the company's biggest subsidiary, had an 8.2 percent increase in operating profit, reporting income of $19.8 million in the latest quarter compared to $18.3 million in the year-earlier period.

Fourth-quarter container volume in the West Coast-Hawaii service was down 5 percent but automobile volume was up 6 percent. For accounting purposes, A&B said, Matson's fourth quarter had 14 weeks this year compared to 13 weeks last year.

Matson revenues were up 2 percent at $216.1 million in the 2000 quarter, from $211.8 million in the 1999 period. The shipping line put a 3.9 percent rate increase into effect last February and plans to raise rates again next month.

In the latest quarter, A&B had an operating profit from property leasing of $7.9 million, up 14 percent from $6.9 million in the year-earlier period. The leasing gain more than made up for a loss of $862,000 in property sales in the 2000 quarter, compared to a sales profit of $323,000 in the year-earlier period. A&B said property sales activity was relatively low in both periods.

The company's food products business, mainly sugar production on Maui, had a fourth-quarter operating profit of $4.6 million in 2000, up 53.3 percent from a profit of $3 million in the 1999 period.

A&B's fourth-quarter revenues of $261.7 million were down 0.7 percent from $263.6 million in the year-earlier quarter.

For all of 2000, A&B had a profit of $90.6 million, up 44.7 percent from a profit of $62.6 million in 1999, after the coffee write-down. There was an accounting change in 2000 that added about $12 million to the net. The company earned $2.21 a share last year after the accounting change, up 52.4 percent from $1.45 a share after the coffee item.

A&B had an average of 40.9 million shares outstanding in 2000, down 5.3 percent from 43.2 million in 1999, because of a share buyback. The company's board of directors yesterday approved the buyback of an additional million shares.

Annual revenues of $1.07 billion were up 8 percent from just under $1 billion in 1999.

A&B's stock closed up 8 cents today at $27.56 on the Nasdaq.