Higher oil prices helped boost profits for Honolulu-based Barnwell Industries Inc., which said net income for the three months ended June 30 soared 376 percent to $3.53 million from $743,000 in the same quarter last year.

Revenue was $20.4 million in the company's fiscal third quarter, up about 72 percent from $11.8 million a year earlier.

The drilling and energy company, which also has real estate development interests on the Big Island, said oil and natural gas revenues were up by $5.3 million, or 57 percent, because of increased prices.

Prices for oil and natural gas liquids were up 98 percent, and prices for natural gas were up 52 percent, the company said.

Barnwell said its earnings included recording $608,000 as a bad debt related to oil and natural gas payments owed by an energy transportation company, SemGroup L.P., that filed for bankruptcy July 22. Barnwell, which terminated a sales contract with SemGroup, estimates that financial exposure in its fiscal fourth quarter amounts to about $550,000 in July sales owed by SemGroup.

On the Big Island, Barnwell recorded a pretax gain of $443,000 from the June sale of rights to purchase two lots in Ka'upulehu near the Four Seasons Resort Hualalai.

Also, a land development partnership that is 77.6 percent owned by Barnwell received a $1.77 million option payment as part of development rights at the resort. The partnership, Kaupulehu Developments, also received $428,000 from an adjacent project in which it earns a percentage of property sales.

The option payment is a portion of the eighth of 10 scheduled option payments from the Hualalai development rights. The remaining $886,000 of the eighth payment is due Dec. 31.

In a fledgling endeavor, Barnwell is building two homes at Ka'upulehu on two of four lots it owns. Russell Gifford, Barnwell chief financial officer, said the company is starting small in residential construction but would build more homes if the project does well.

"The objective is to crawl before you walk, and walk before you run," he said. "This is a new venture for us."

Barnwell, once a Tennessee-based energy company, has been based in Hawai'i since the early 1980s after it was lured to the state to explore the potential of geothermal energy. The company drilled the first commercial geothermal well in Puna on the Big Island in 1980. Today, Barnwell has interests in oil and natural gas exploration primarily in Canada.

Barnwell said that during the quarter, it invested $3.9 million in oil and gas exploration and development that included drilling 10 wells with partners. Production potential of the wells is being evaluated. Barnwell's ownership interest in the 10 wells is the equivalent of owning 2.7 wells outright.

Shares of Barnwell stock closed yesterday at $11, up 18 cents from Friday, on the American Stock Exchange.

Earnings per diluted share of stock amounted to 42 cents in the quarter compared with 9 cents a year earlier.

Yesterday Barnwell's board of directors declared a cash dividend of 7.5 cents a share payable on Sept. 22 to shareholders of record on Sept. 8.

The board also authorized the company to repurchase up to 150,000 shares of stock between Aug. 18 and Dec. 31.