BUSINESS BRIEFS
Maui Land & Pineapple gets boost from sale
Advertiser Staff and News Services
The sale of 1,800 acres of land in Upcountry Maui boosted Maui Land & Pineapple Co. earnings sharply in the first quarter.
The company earned $13.8 million, or $1.90 a share, in the January-through-March quarter, up from $1.3 million, or 17 cents a share in the same period a year earlier.
The sale of the property, which was considered non-core to the company's strategic plan, generated a pretax gain of $21.5 million, the company said.
REVENUE RISES AT TOP THREE RESORTS
Hawai'i's top three Neighbor Island luxury resort destinations — Wailea, Ka'anapali/Kapalua and the Kohala Coast — generated more than $318.5 million in room revenues during the first quarter of 2006, according to data released yesterday by Hospitality Advisors LLC.
The revenue figure is up 6.3 percent over the same period last year and represents 38.3 percent of total statewide hotel room revenue. All three destinations also posted higher revenue per available room despite declines in occupancy.
$500,000 TO AID LAID-OFF WORKERS
Federal government officials awarded the state more than $500,000 to assist 170 displaced hotel workers from the former Hawai'i Naniloa Resort and Kapalua Bay Hotel.
U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao said the grant to the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations would support re-employment services and training for the dislocated workers.
