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HAWAII

Hawaiian Telcom names executives

Hawaiian Telcom, which is what local telephone company Verizon Hawaii will be called if the Carlyle Group buys it as planned, has hired several executive managers, the company said.

Among those hired are Alan Oshima, senior vice president and general counsel, who is founding partner of the Honolulu law firm Oshima Chun Fong & Chung LLP. The company also appointed David Torline as senior vice president and chief information officer, Linda Frank as senior vice president of sales, Harvey Plummer as senior vice president of engineering and operations, Michael Brown as vice president of sales operations and process engineering, Claire Cooper as vice president of human resources, Jon Gelman as vice president and general manager of wireless services, and Ron Montgomery as vice president and general manager of directories.

Kanda resigns from CPF's board

Central Pacific Financial Corp. President and Chief Operating Office Neil Kanda has resigned his position on the company's board of directors, according to a regulatory filing.

Kanda will retain his executive positions at Central Pacific as well as his seats on the boards of the two subsidiaries, Central Pacific Bank and City Bank.

He will also remain as president and COO of the two subsidiaries, Central Pacific said in a filing last week with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Kanda resigned from the board that day, and will be replaced Feb. 1 by Crystal Rose, according to the filing.

Mera narrows loss for full year

Mera Pharmaceuticals Inc., which introduced a new nutritional supplement during fiscal 2004, narrowed its loss for the full year to $1.1 million from $1.8 million a year earlier.

Revenue rose 17.2 percent to $909,613 for the year ended Oct. 31 from $776,109 a year earlier. The bulk of that amount came from product sales, which increased 78.2 percent to $672,000 from $377,000.

Included among the product sales was $200,000 of previously deferred revenue that had been received from Chinese businessmen for now-expired products. The Chinese businessmen never received government approval to import the products.

Expenses decreased 19.2 percent to $2.3 million from $2.8 million.

The Kona company's new product, SalmonEssentials, is an extension of its nutritional supplement AstaFactor line and combines natural astaxanthin and Omega-3 fatty acids.

Mera, known as Aquasearch Inc. before emerging from Chapter 11 reorganization in September 2002, has lost $3.8 million since emerging from bankruptcy and more than $26 million since it was founded in 1988.

Kaiser tops national ranking

The nonprofit accreditation organization National Committee for Quality Assurance has recognized Kaiser Permanente Hawaii as No. 1 in the nation for care of Medicaid members and among the top 10 for care of Medicare members.

Kaiser, Hawaii's largest health maintenance organization, took best-in-class scores on a half dozen performance measures, Kaiser said.

PestWorld books Hawaii for 2010

PestWorld is returning to Hawaii.

The National Pest Management Association has rebooked the Hawaii Convention Center for its national convention in 2010 after having held its 2004 meeting here.

More than 2,000 delegates are expected at the 2010 event, generating $6.5 million in visitor spending, according to the center's manager, SMG Hawaii.

The decision follows SMG's offer of free rent of the convention center to members of the Professional Convention Management Association, which recently held its annual meeting at the center.

NATION

US Airways' loss doubles on lower fares

US Airways Group Inc., operating under bankruptcy protection, said its fourth-quarter loss more than doubled to $236 million as competition pushed fares lower and jet-fuel prices increased.

The net loss grew to $4.30 a share from $98 million, or $1.82 a share, a year earlier, the Arlington, Va.-based company said in a statement yesterday. Sales fell 5.9 percent to $1.66 billion from $1.76 billion.

Hilton profit falls because of tax benefit

Hilton Hotels Corp., the No. 3 U.S. hotel company, said fourth-quarter earnings fell 3 percent from a year ago, when results were boosted by a tax benefit. Revenue rose 7.3 percent as the company charged higher room rates. Net income declined to $65 million from $67 million a year earlier.