Maui Land & Pineapple Co. Inc., the Kahului-based company that last week announced plans to lay off 274 employees, said it swung to a profit during the second quarter, though two of its three operating units had losses.

The company reported net income of $272,000, or 3 cents a share, in the three months ended June 30.

That compared with a loss of $3.5 million, or 44 cents a share, a year earlier.

Maui Land has been trying to boost profitability at its agricultural, resort and land development operations. The company, whose biggest stockholder is former AOL Time-Warner chairman Steve Case, is one of Maui's largest landowners and employers. But its stock has slumped over the past year and is down 6.6 percent this year.

Revenue fell to $17.6 million, from $38.7 million a year earlier, because of lower real estate sales and the ending of canned pineapple sales. Last year, the company closed its canning business, ending more than 100 years of pineapple canning in Hawai'i.

Robert Webber, Maui Land's chief operating officer, said the results were consistent with the overall downturn Hawai'i has been experiencing. He said the company, while sensitive to problems caused by layoffs, has been trying to reduce expenses but make sure customer service and other functions don't suffer.

He said bright spots included sales at the Residences at Kapalua Bay and the company's resort seemingly performing better than competitors during the current tourism downturn. Tourism officials have said Maui hotel occupancy has been down as much as 30 percent.

"We had a tough quarter at the resort, along with everybody else," said Webber, who also is the company's chief financial officer. "Things are down, but not as bad as others."

The Kahului-based company reported improved financial results at two of its three operating units, though losses were recorded at its agricultural and resort units.

The community development segment's operating profit rose to $11 million from $8.1 million a year earlier as profit was recognized from sales at the Residences at Kapalua Bay project. This consisted of recognizing a percentage of the downpayments on the luxury condominiums being sold as the project reaches certain stages of completion.

The agricultural segment's operating loss narrowed to $4.6 million from $10.6 million a year earlier, when it had charges related to the restructuring of pineapple operations.

The resort segment reported worse results, in that its operating loss increased to $5.2 million from a loss of $2.8 million in the 2007 second quarter. The company said lower visitor arrivals and lower occupancy, along with higher operational costs, were responsible for the segment's lower results.

The company's shares were off $1.32 to $27.18 yesterday. The company made its announcement after the close of regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange.