ML&P reports doubts about its ability to continue

KAPALUA – Financial challenges facing Maui Land & Pineapple Co. are raising a “substantial doubt about the company’s ability to continue as a going concern,” the company reports in its latest filing with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission.

Among a number of disclosures in the filing, a group of lenders has declared that a $280.5 million loan for the Kapalua Bay Holdings’ construction of the The Ritz-Carlton Club and Residences, Kapalua Bay is in default. ML&P has invested more than $50 million in cash and $25 million in land for the development project and has 51 percent ownership in the Bay Holdings company.

“The company’s cash outlook for the next 12 months and its ability to continue to meet its financial covenants is highly dependent on selling certain real estate assets in a difficult market,” the filing says. “If the company is unable to meet its financial covenants resulting in the borrowings becoming immediately due, the company would not have sufficient liquidity to repay such outstanding borrowings.”

While the company’s future appears ominous in its SEC filing, Tim Esaki, the company’s financial officer, said Friday that company officials “remain optimistic.”

Grants awarded to 210 projects

HONOLULU – The Hawai’i Tourism Authority, in partnership with Hawaii’s four county governments, has selected more than 120 events and projects statewide to receive funding under its County Product Enrichment Program for 2011.

CPEP was created in 2002 to strengthen and diversify Hawaii’s tourism product and provide a quality visitor experience.

Maui County programs to receive money are:

Arts Education for Children Group: Maui Invitational Music Festival and Aloha Peace Festival.

Ebb & Flow Arts: North South East West Festival.

Hana Cultural Center: Aloha Spirit: Tradition of Worship & Music in East Maui Ho’olaule’a.

Hawaii Nature Center Inc.: Earth Week in Iao Valley.

Japanese Cultural Society: Maui Matsuri.

Kapalua Maui Charities Inc.: Kapalua Wine & Food Festival.

Kihoalu Foundation: 20th Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar Festival.

Lahaina Restoration Foundation: The Hawaiian Music Series and Lahaina Plantation Days.

Lanai Community Association: Lanai Pineapple Festival.

Maui Academy of Performing Arts: Summer Under the Stars.

Maui Arts & Cultural Center: Visual Arts Exhibit Program; Na Hoku Hou; Ka Mai Ka Hula; Ukulele Festival; Ku Ka Maka.

Maui Classical Music Festival.

ML&P issues layoff notices

Unknown number of workers at Kapalua golf courses to lose jobs under a new manager

KAPALUA – A number of Maui Land & Pineapple employees will lose their jobs when an independent firm takes over management of the Kapalua Plantation Golf Course and Bay Golf Course at the end of March, the company announced Monday.

In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, ML&P said the total number of employees affected by the turnover is still uncertain, but that it had sent a 60-day layoff notice to workers, in compliance with U.S. labor laws.

There are about 100 ML&P employees working at the two courses, approximately half of the company’s total work force of 200, said Chief Financial Officer Tim Esaki.

Troon Golf, of Scottsdale, Ariz., will take over management of the courses on April 1, the company said.

Esaki said golf course employees were sure to be involved in the change, but “it may affect other employees as well.”

“Troon Golf, assuming the management of the golf course, will have an impact on other areas of our operations, but we’re currently in the process of evaluating what that is,” he said.

ML&P sold its Bay Course last year to TY Management Corp. for $23.6 million, with an agreement to lease back and continue to operate the links until March 31.

TY also purchased the Plantation Course from money-losing ML&P for $50 million cash in 2009, also with a lease-back contract.

ML&P issues layoff notices – Mauinews.com | News, Sports, Jobs, Visitor’s Information – The Maui News

Maui Land & Pineapple Co Inc Closes Above 200-Day Moving Average, Hits $4.95 – American Banking News

Shares of Maui Land & Pineapple Co Inc (NYSE: MLP) closed above its 200-day moving average on Friday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $4.50 and last traded at $4.95.

Maui Land & Pineapple Company, Inc. consists of a landholding and operating parent company and its principal subsidiaries, including Maui Pineapple Company, Ltd. (MPC) and Kapalua Land Company, Ltd. As of March 29, 2010, the Company operated in two segments: Community Development and Resort. Revenues from its two segments, Community Development segment and Resort segment accounted for approximately 39% and 59% of its consolidated revenues respectively during the year ended December 31, 2009. On November 2, 2009, the Company ceased its agriculture operations.

Maui Land & Pineapple Co Inc (NYSE: MLP) traded up 10.13% during mid-day trading on Friday. The stock has a 52 week low of $2.05 and a 52 week high of $8.20. The company has a market cap of $93.8 million and a price-to-earnings ratio of N/A.

Maui Land & Pineapple Co Inc (NYSE: MLP) Closes Above 200-Day Moving Average, Hits $4.95 – American Banking News

Appraisal — County buyout equals pricey water on Lanai

WAILUKU – Earlier this year, the County Council demanded that the Lanai Co. “ask” for an appraisal of the value of its water company, with a view toward acquiring it to be part of the Department of Water Supply.

The appraisal by Brown & Caldwell is in. It estimates that if the county acquires the Lanai water system, rates would have to be raised nearly 900 percent, since costs of operation, new equipment and paying for the system would require nearly 10 times as much money as the $553,000 in revenue that the private company now enjoys.

On Tuesday, the Water Resources Committee, without comment, passed the agenda item on to the next council. If it had not done something, the Lanai proposal would have been filed.

Unresolved council projects expire automatically with the council that gave them birth, unless specific action is taken to pass the uncompleted work on to the next council. The next council will have five new members.

Mayor-elect Alan Arakawa has said since the beginning of his first term in 2003 that he wanted all water in the county to come under public control. That would include private water companies at Kapalua, Kaanapali, the Wailuku Water Co. and East Maui Irrigation.

However, during his first term, Arakawa did not acquire any private water for the county.

Junior golf tournament scheduled be held on Maui

The Hawaii State Junior Golf Association is hosting 2010 Haliimaile Pineapple Co. Tournament of Champions on Maui this weekend.

The association is inviting all champions to compete in the end of the year tournament at Wailea Golf Club.

It’s the last opportunity players will have to earn points toward becoming “HSJGA Player of the Year” in each age division.

The association will also be recognizing the top boy and top girl golfers from each island, as measured by final HSJGA Point List.

These players will be eligible to participate in the 2011 Junior Golf Day scheduled to be held at the Kapalua Plantation Golf Course in January, just before the Hyundai Tournament of Champions.

Junior golf tournament scheduled be held on Maui | San Francisco Examiner

MAUI LAND & PINEAPPLE CO INC – 10-Q – 20101102 – FORM

Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

Overview of the Company

MAUI LAND &amp Pineapple Company, Inc. is a Hawaii corporation and the successor to a business organized in 1909. We are a landholding company. Our principal subsidiary is Kapalua Land Company, Ltd., the operator and developer of Kapalua Resort, a master-planned community in West Maui. Our reportable operating segments are Resort and Community Development. In December 2009, all of our Agriculture segment operations were ceased and the segment is reported as discontinued operations.

ML&P still pushing for Pulelehua

LAHAINA – Maui Land & Pineapple Co. executives told Maui County Council members Wednesday night that the bad days are behind them and as soon as the housing market shows firm signs of improvement, they will be ready to move forward with long-planned developments, such as Pulelehua.

But first, they need the county to give them the land entitlements, said Ryan Churchill, ML&P president and chief operating officer.

However, Churchill was met with some skeptical members of the council’s Land Use Committee. Council Chairman Danny Mateo and Vice Chairman Mike Molina both pointed out that they went out on a limb five years ago to grant ML&P’s Kapalua Mauka development all the zoning and other land classification requirements it needed to move forward, but not one shovel of dirt has been turned on the project.

ML&P nears deal to pay off $40 million debt

maui-news-ad

Maui Land & Pineapple Co. has completed definitive agreements with all holders of $40 million of its debt to repurchase the notes.

In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission Tuesday, the company said it had reached agreement with the last remaining noteholders on July 22. It had earlier stated that four-fifths of the creditors had agreed to the deal.

As a result, debt-laden ML&P hopes to retire a large chunk of its obligations that otherwise would have required it to go to financial markets to refinance the $40 million as early as next year. Considering the company’s money-losing status, refinancing would have been difficult and expensive.

Inability to replace the debt with new debt or retire it could have triggered incidents of default with other corporate loans.

In May, the board of directors authorized an additional 20 million shares to be offered to the creditors.