Castle Group loss widens to $251,002

The Castle Group Inc., the Honolulu-based holding company for Castle Resorts & Hotels, posted a wider third-quarter loss of $251,002 from a loss of $120,519 a year ago.

Castle's results included a foreign exchange loss of $294,521 resulting from the increased valuation of the New Zealand dollar against the U.S. dollar during the quarter following the purchase of real estate in New Zealand.

Revenue decreased 12.9 percent to $4.1 million from $4.7 million a year ago.

Castle provides management and related hospitality services throughout Hawaii as well as in Micronesia, New Zealand and Thailand.

Aqua Hotels increases its stable

Aqua Hotels & Resorts will assume management of the 44-story, 596-room Maile Sky Court Hotel on Dec. 1.

The management contract brings the number of Waikiki hotels under Aqua to 14 and its overall portfolio to 17, covering Oahu, Kauai, Maui and Molokai.

The hotel at 2058 Kuhio Ave., owned by Japan-based Maile Sky Court Co. Ltd., is currently managed by Castle Hotels & Resorts.

Central Pacific stock dips below $1

Central Pacific Financial Corp., which posted a $183.1 million loss in the third quarter amid deteriorating commercial real estate markets in California and Hawaii, saw its stock drop below $1 yesterday for the first time in the bank's history. Shares of the parent of Central Pacific Bank closed down 2 cents at 98 cents after reaching an intraday low of 95 cents.

Multiple-listing service widens

HiCentral MLS Ltd. has gone beyond the reef to join forces with a similar service in San Diego.

A wholly owned subsidiary of the Honolulu Board of Realtors, HiCentral MLS has partnered with Sandicor, San Diego County's regional multiple-listing service, and its SmartLink program.

The alliance will give HiCentral subscribers access to Sandicor's property database and likewise will give Sandicor subscribers access to multiple-listing service details for all of Oahu and some properties on the neighbor islands.

The public can view general information at http://www.hicentral.com.

ProService teams with Bishop & Co.

Hawaii human resources administration company ProService Hawaii has announced an exclusive arrangement with Honolulu-based staffing agency Bishop & Co.

Bishop & Co. will serve as the exclusive provider of temporary, temp-to-hire and direct-hire employees to ProService client companies at preferred rates.

On the Move

» Swinerton Builders has named Scott Schriefer as operations manager overseeing the Building Group. He was previously an operations manager for HMH Builders, as well as having medical, office building and pre-construction experience on large projects. Also, Gary W. Moura was chosen as operations manager for the Special Projects Group. He was previously a project executive for the Special Projects Group.

» University of Oxford Chancellor's Court of Benefactors has recognized dentist Lawrence K.W. Tseu for his lifetime commitment to higher education, academic and professional achievements, and his generous gift to Oxford's Harris Manchester College. A building was named after the dentist and his late wife, BoHing Chan Tseu, at Harris Manchester College.