Alexander & Baldwin Inc. said it earned $28.9 million, or 70 cents per share, in the second quarter.
President Stan Kuriyama called it “a strong second quarter” compared with the $12.6 million earned in the second quarter of 2009.
Revenue was $398.9 million, compared with $351.0 million for the year before.
On Maui, Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Co. made a sharp rebound after a bad 2009, which had the A&B board of directors considering whether to continue in sugar.
For the first half – a more informative period for comparison than just the second quarter – operating profit in agribusiness (which includes Kauai Coffee) rose by $13.9 million and net profit edged into the black at $700,000. Agribusiness had lost a net $13.2 million in the first half of 2009.
HC&S shut down its mill for an unusually long refit and it reorganized its plantings, which have been affected by drought for several years. Operational improvements combined with better prices for raw sugar turned losses into profits.
For the January-June period, Maui Brand specialty sugar sales were down $2 million and molasses sales were down $1.3 million, but power sales were up $1.5 million. Coffee sales increased by $1.5 million as well.
The big gains came from raw sugar, whose output was 31 percent higher, primarily from better growing conditions.