Maui Land & Pineapple
profits flat

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By Russ Lynch
rlynch@starbulletin.com

Increased losses from pineapple and lower resort profits held Maui Land & Pineapple Co.'s first-quarter net profit to virtually the same as the year-earlier result, despite higher returns from property, the company said today.

The first-quarter net was $776,000, or 11 cents a share, down just $3,000 from the 2001 quarter's net of $779,000, or 11 cents a share. Revenues of $36.3 million in the latest quarter were down 6.2 percent from $38.7 million a year earlier.

Pineapple had revenues of $19.3 million, down 8.5 percent from a year-earlier level of $21.1 million, and pineapple operations lost $1,140,000, an increase of 17.9 percent from the operating loss of $967,000 in the 2001 quarter. Canned-pineapple sales and prices were both down from last year and were partially offset by higher fresh-pineapple revenues.

Resort operations had revenues of $15.2 million this year, down 6.7 percent from $16.3 million in last year's quarter. The resort business had an operating profit of $2.96 million this year, down 12.2 percent from $3.37 million.

There were dips in income from other tourism-related operations as well, due mostly to reduced hotel occupancy at Kapalua and on Maui in general, the company said.

In the property segment, a $622,000 gain from selling a real estate parcel more than covered lower results from the Queen Kaahumanu Center. The result was commercial and property revenues of $1.7 million, up 30.8 percent from $1.3 million, and an operating profit in that segment of $319,000, up more than 1,100 percent from $26,000.