Posted at 12:01 p.m., Wednesday, November 9, 2005
BUSINESS BRIEFS
State cuts gas cap by 3 cents
Advertiser Staff and News Services
The Hawai'i Public Utilities Commission trimmed the state's wholesale gas cap by about 3 cents, the fifth consecutive week that it's cut the price limit.The state set the pre-tax cap for Nov. 14-20 at $1.8522 for a gallon of regular gasoline on O'ahu.
The cap regulates how much wholesalers can charge for gasoline but does not limit how much service stations can charge at the pump. Many gas stations appear to be passing on the lower cost to consumers, so it's likely prices at the pump will fall by about 3 cents next week.
The price ceiling went into effect on Sept. 1 and is based on five-days of wholesale prices in New York, the Gulf Coast and Los Angeles.
HEI says profit falls
Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc. says its third-quarter profit fell.
The utility holding company said Wednesday that net income slipped to $37.5 million, or 46 cents per share, down from $42.7 million, or 53 cents per share, for the same period last year. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial expected earnings of 47 cents per share.
Revenue grew to $595.9 million from $506.8 million. Compared with the second quarter, kilowatt-hour sales were flat, driving down sequential results.
"Results were down quarter-over-quarter as increased utility operations and maintenance costs continued," said Robert F. Clarke, chairman, president and chief executive, in a statement. "Our systems are being run harder to meet high levels of demand that were set last year."
Operations and maintenance expenses rose by $6.7 million year-over-year. Total quarterly expenses were $518.7 million versus $425.1 million a year ago.
