Barnwell earnings
more than tripleReduced Canadian taxes and a
land investment helped boost net income
Barnwell Industries Inc., bolstered by its land investment segment and helped by a reduction in Canadian income tax rates, more than tripled its net income in its fiscal 2004 first quarter to $2.9 million.
The Honolulu-based company's net income for the comparable period of 2003 was $870,000. Earnings per share were $2.10 compared with 64 cents a year earlier.
Barnwell posted an 8 percent increase in both natural gas and oil net production from its Alberta, Canada, operations and saw its revenue soar 37.3 percent to $8.2 million from $6 million a year ago.
The company, a 77.6 percent stakeholder in Kaupulehu Developments on the Big Island, received $2.7 million in the quarter from Kaupulehu Makai Venture, which has the right to buy leasehold land in North Kona. It was the third of 10 scheduled option payments related to development rights within Hualalai Resort in Kona. That amount was reduced by $159,000 to just under $2.5 million from fees related to the sale of the development rights.
If Kaupulehu Makai Venture exercises all of its options, Barnwell would get an additional seven payments of about $2.7 million each on Dec. 31 every year from 2004 to 2010.
In addition, Barnwell said its fourth-quarter net income included deferred tax benefits of about $1.5 million because of reductions in Canadian corporate income tax rates.
