Shares of Central Pacific Financial Corp. were among the best-gaining small company stocks on the New York Stock Exchange yesterday, surging 32 percent.

The parent company of Central Pacific Bank closed up 70 cents to $2.87 as financial stocks led the Dow Jones Industrial and Standard & Poor's 500 indexes higher.

The price jump comes days after the company postponed plans to sell new stock and raise up to $100 million. Central Pacific's gain was the highest on a percentage basis since late March, when its shares were up $1.89 to $7.54.

HAWAIIAN AIRLINES TOPS ON-TIME RANKING

Hawaiian Airlines led the nation's carriers in punctuality in June with 93.3 percent of its flights arriving within 15 minutes of their scheduled time, the Department of Transportation reported yesterday.

Hawaiian's on-time performance for the month was 17.2 percentage points better than the industry, according to the DOT's monthly Air Travel Consumer Report.

The report showed Hawaiian's on-time record at Mainland airports ranged from a low of 33 percent at San Francisco Airport to 81 percent at the Seattle-Tacoma airport.

Hawaiian ranked second overall nationally in the handling of customers' luggage during June, with 1.92 mishandled baggage reports filed for every 1,000 passengers.

The DOT report covers 19 airlines, including nine carriers providing service to Hawai'i.

ENG FORMS LAND-CONSULTING COMPANY

Henry Eng, former director of the Honolulu Department of Planning and Permitting, formed a new consultant firm, HELPS LLC.

The company, whose name is an acronym for Henry Eng Land Planning Services, provides landowners with research, analysis and recommendations on land use strategy. HELPS registered with the state on July 6 as a domestic limited liability company.

"The firm will capitalize on 40 years of public and private sector experience to offer directed services to individual landowners and organizations," according to a news release from the company.