Barnwell’s profit drops

High-flying Barnwell Industries Inc., whose stock has quadrupled since the start of 2004, saw its fiscal second-quarter net income plunge 75.7 percent due to a large real estate transaction that was included in year-earlier results.

The Honolulu-based company, which has oil and natural gas explorations in Alberta, Canada, and real estate holdings on the Big Island, posted earnings of $910,000, or 32 cents a share, compared with $3.7 million, or $1.33 a share, a year ago.

Revenue fell 29.4 percent to $9.8 million from $13.9 million.

Barnwell's net income in the year-earlier quarter was boosted by more than $7 million in revenue from the closing of a real estate deal involving Kaupulehu Developments, which is Barnwell's real estate development partnership on the Big Island. There was no comparable transaction last quarter.

The company's stock dropped $4.25, or 6 percent, to $66.50 in trading yesterday on the American Stock Exchange.

The company's board of directors also declared a dividend of 6 cents a share that will be payable June 15 to shareholders of record on June 1. The payout is a penny higher than the dividend paid last quarter and will mark the sixth dividend that Barnwell has distributed since January 2004, when it made its first payment in more than two years.

In addition, Barnwell's board signaled its intention to possibly split the company's stock again by approving an increase in the number of authorized shares to 20 million from 4 million. Shareholder approval is needed for the share increase.