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HAWAII

Hawaiian leads on-time stats

Hawaiian Airlines turned in the nation's best on-time performance in December for the second month in a row.

The carrier, which began filing a monthly on-time report with the U.S. Department of Transportation starting with its November statistics, had 88.3 percent of its flights arrive within 15 minutes of schedule.

Mark Dunkerley, president and chief operating officer of Hawaiian, said an analysis of Hawaiian's on-time performance with the available industry data showed that the airline would have ranked as the nation's No. 1 on-time carrier for 2003 had the airline reported its results to the DOT each month of the year.

Meanwhile, parent company Hawaiian Holdings Inc. said yesterday it erred in a news release issued the previous day in which it said Reno Morella remained on the company's board of directors. Actually, Morella resigned after the company's directors and officers insurance policy expired on Jan. 31.

NATION

Dole Food president retires early

Hawaii-born Dole Food Co., the world's largest food and vegetable producer, said President and Chief Operating Officer Lawrence Kern is taking early retirement to pursue other interests.

Chief Executive David Murdock has taken over Kern's duties, Westlake Village, Calif.-based Dole said in a release. A spokeswoman didn't immediately return a voice-mail message left with her office after business hours.

Kern joined Dole in 1993 and was promoted to president and chief operating officer in February of 2001. Murdock took the company, which had $4.4 billion in sales last year, private in March.

Dole's 8 7/8 percent notes maturing in March 2011 fell 0.46 percent to 109.25 cents on the dollar, according to a Bloomberg market average price. The yield rose to 7.187 percent from 7.102 percent.

Boyd earnings triple to $12.3 million

LAS VEGAS >> Boyd Gaming Corp., which conducts charter flights from Honolulu to Las Vegas, said earnings more than tripled in the fourth quarter from a year ago as it reaped the benefits of its new Atlantic City, N.J., casino.

The Las Vegas-based casino operator, whose downtown hotels are popular with Hawaii residents, said its profit rose to $12.3 million, or 19 cents a share, from $3.9 million, or 6 cents a share, a year earlier. Boyd opened the $1.1 billion Borgata in July 2003. Boyd said that fourth-quarter profits were affected by increased taxes in Indiana, Illinois and Nevada.

Revenues for Vacations Hawaii, the subsidiary that sells Las Vegas air-hotel packages to Hawaii residents, fell 6.5 percent to $11.4 million from $12.2 million a year ago. Total revenue edged up 0.7 percent to $308.2 million from $306.1 million a year ago.

Cendant's profit climbs 17 percent

Cendant Corp.'s profit rose 17 percent in the latest quarter as revenue increased 12 percent.

The travel and real-estate concern yesterday reported fourth-quarter net income of $288 million, or 28 cents a share, compared with the previous year's $247 million, or 24 cents a share.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call had forecast, on average, fourth-quarter earnings of 27 cents a share. Revenue at the New York-based company, which owns Honolulu-founded Cheap Tickets and has other interests in Hawaii, climbed to $4.35 billion from $3.9 billion.

Revenue from real-estate services, which includes the brands Century 21 and Coldwell Banker, rose 6 percent to $1.6 billion. In the vehicle services division, which includes Avis rental cars, revenue increased 20 percent to $1.39 billion.

Revenue from the travel distribution division rose 3.1 percent to $393 million.

Coast Guard issues fines for late plans

WASHINGTON >> The Coast Guard began imposing $10,000 fines yesterday against shippers and ports that missed a year-end deadline to submit terrorism protection plans.

Congress last year ordered the shipping industry to tighten security amid such fears as a hijacked oil tanker rigged with explosives or a radioactive dirty bomb smuggled ashore in a shipping container. An attack on a port could kill thousands, cause massive property damage and cost the U.S. economy tens of billions of dollars.

Port facilities and ship owners had until Dec. 31 to turn in vulnerability assessment reports and security plans, but only about 42 percent had complied by year's end. The Coast Guard said that number has risen to 90 percent.

Matson Navigation Co., the ocean transportation subsidiary of Alexander & Baldwin Inc., met the deadline for all its entities, according to spokesman Jeff Hull.

Brian Taylor, vice president and general manager of Hawaii-Guam for Horizon Lines, formerly known as CSX Lines, was out of the office and could not be reached for comment.

Department of Transportation spokesman Scott Ishikawa said the Harbors Division turned in its plan two days before deadline.