IN HAWAII

Hawaiian Airlines increases passengers

Hawaiian Airlines reported yesterday that it carried a total of 508,133 passengers on all its scheduled routes for interisland, mainland and South Pacific operations during June.

The number represents a 2.4 percent increase over numbers reported for the same period last year.

Hawaiian's load factor, which represents the percent of available seats filled by paying passengers, was 80.1 percent for June, a decrease of 0.7 points from June 2001's load factor of 80.8 percent.

Hawaiian Dredging sale to close in fall

The sale of century-old Hawaiian Dredging & Construction Co. to a Japan-owned company should be completed in mid-September and "substantially all" of the 490 employees will be retained, according to an ownership-change notice filed this week with the state Department of Labor & Industrial Relations.

Union contracts will continue and the operations of the company will continue as usual, according to the statement required of large Hawaii companies undergoing an ownership change.

Hawaiian Dredging, which started in 1902 and gave rise later to Dillingham Corp., agreed in May to be acquired by Kajima U.S.A. Inc., a company it has done business with for more than 20 years.

ON THE MAINLAND

Dole profits rise 81%; will expense options

Westlake Village, Calif. >> Dole Food Co., the world's largest fruit and vegetable producer, said second-quarter earnings climbed 81 percent, and the company plans to change the way it accounts for stock options and leases.

Net income rose to $66.8 million, or $1.18 a share, from $37 million, or 66 cents, a year earlier, as Dole reduced selling and manufacturing costs. Sales in the quarter ended June 15 were little changed at $1.12 billion.

Dole said it plans to expense employee stock options and to work toward bringing $190 million in operating leases onto its balance sheet, to make its financial statements clearer. Accounting probes of companies such as Enron Corp. and WorldCom Inc. have spurred many to alter their practices. Coca-Cola Co. earlier this week said it will begin expensing options.

Dole, founded in Hawaii in 1851, has divested most of its Hawaii operations.

In other news ...

SAN FRANCISCO >> The Pacific Maritime Association, which represents dozens of shipping lines that bring billions of dollars of goods through West Coast ports, reacted coolly yesterday to a proposal from the International Longshore and Warehouse Union designed to break an impasse in contract negotiations. The association countered with its own plan, saying the union proposal failed to adequately address efficiency needs.

NEW YORK >> Real estate and travel services firm Cendant Corp. reported a second-quarter profit of $7 million, including a $256 million charge stemming from the recent disposal of its National Car Parks operation. Cheap Tickets' parent Cendant reported a profit of $242 million a year ago.