Star Advertiser –
By Andrew Gomes –
Maui Land & Pineapple Co. generated less revenue last year amid the coronavirus pandemic but reduced its bottom-line loss from 2019. –
The company, which developed Kapalua Resort and once farmed pineapple but now mainly leases former plantation lands to tenants, lost $2.6 million last year, compared with a $10.4 million loss the year before, according to an annual report released Tuesday.
Maui Land said disruptions to tourism on Maui because of COVID-19 hurt company revenue from real estate leases as well as a club membership program that contributed to revenue falling 25% to $7.5 million last year from $10 million the year before.
However, the company’s 2019 loss was bigger because of two extraordinary items: a contested $5 million tax refund allowance and a $3.6 million noncash charge for reducing the value of some real estate.
Last year Maui Land offset some of its leasing revenue decline with the sale of 5 acres of agricultural land for $600,000. The buyer, Maui County, plans to use the land to expand its Lahaina wastewater system. Maui Land also received $900,000 as returned cash collateral from an insurance program of dissolved timeshare joint-venture development firm Kapalua Bay Holdings.
Maui Land anticipated selling 46 acres at Kapalua Resort for $43.9 million last year, but the deal didn’t close as expected in September because of COVID-19 restrictions. The company said selling the property, which has long been planned for residential and commercial development, is now expected to happen in mid-August.
The Kapalua-based company with 17 employees also tried to improve its finances last year with a potentially forgivable $246,500 federal Paycheck Protection Program loan but decided to return the loan proceeds based on guidance from the U.S. Small Business Administration that intended for the program to help small businesses that lack significant access to capital.
Maui Land’s financial results last year included a $740,000 fourth-quarter loss on $2.1 million in revenue that compared with a 2019 fourth-quarter loss of $9.1 million on $2.5 million in revenue.
Shares of Maui Land stock on the New York Stock Exchange closed Tuesday at $11.73. Shares over the last 52 weeks have closed between $13.50 on March 4 and $8.92 on March 23.
