Hawai'i's third-largest bank holding company's profit from operations for the quarter that ended Sept. 30 rose to $8.4 million, or $1.03 a share diluted, up 29.6 percent from $6.5 million, or 77 cents, in the same quarter last year.

Still CPB's net income fell 9.5 percent to $7.9 million, or 97 cents a diluted share, from $8.7 million, or $1.06 a share, in the same quarter a year ago. The company said the drop was because of a one-time $877,000 charge for back interest on a state tax assessment in the latest quarter and a $2.2 million gain from a federal tax credit in the year earlier period. CPB said the state tax assessment is under appeal.

"Looking ahead, we remain confident in our ability to gain loan and deposit market share and increase our investment and wealth management penetration," Clint Arnoldus, CPB's chairman, president and chief executive officer, said in a statement.

The bank's earnings per share met Wall Street's estimates of 97 cents a share, according to a survey of analysts. The company's stock climbed 58 cents to closed at a 52-week high of $48.57.

During the third quarter, the company announced plans to buyback 540,000 shares, or 3.4 percent, of outstanding common stock, in its seventh stock repurchase program. It also announced a two-for-one common stock split.

"The stock buyback will increase earnings per share, and the stock split is expected to increase liquidity in the company's shares. We believe both actions will benefit shareholders," Arnoldus said.

The company, along with other banks, have benefited from falling interest rates that increased the spread in the bank's net interest margin to 5.42 percent, an increase of 42 basis points from 4.82 percent a year ago.

"There's not too much noise this quarter. The bank is still looking strong," said Brett Rabatin, a banking analyst with Midwest Research in Nashville, Tenn.

The company's third-quarter revenues rose 14.1 percent to $26.3 million, up from $23 million in the same year-ago quarter. Net interest income, before provision for loan losses was $23.1 million, up 17.6 percent from a year ago.

The company's provision for loan losses for the quarter was $300,000, down 73 percent from $1.1 million a year ago.

"We've been able to reduce the provision based on an assessment of the quality of the loan portfolio and the level of the allowance for loan losses," said Neal Kanda, CPB's chief financial officer.