BUSINESS BRIEFS
Barnwell reports $14.6M profit
By Staff and News Services
Honolulu-based Barnwell Industries posted its best financial results in the company's 50-year history in the latest fiscal year, fueled by record earnings in its oil and natural gas business.
Barnwell reported earnings of $14.6 million, or $1.68 a share for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, up from $6 million, or 70 cents a share for the previous fiscal year.
Earnings also were boosted by proceeds from the sale of a residential development in North Kona.
For the quarter ending Sept. 30, Barnwell reported earnings of $1.84 million, or 21 cents a share, up from $1.80 million, or 21 cents a share for the same quarter a year earlier.
ISSUED LICENSES REACH MILESTONE
Hawai'i has approved its 200th captive insurance license, a milestone for the industry locally since enacting its captive insurance laws in 1986.
The license was issued to MHC Insurance Co., which insures the worldwide risks of its Japanese-related owners and affiliates, according to a state Insurance Division news release. Captive insurance is a form of self-insurance under which large companies set up their own units to cover their risks.
Hawai'i is one of the most active states in attracting captive insurers and ranks second-among states in terms of number of licensed companies.
BUSINESS' PUSH FORMS NEW RULES
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department announced new rules yesterday that will make it harder for prosecutors to bring criminal charges against companies, bending to intense pressure from business groups that claim the government has overreached in its pursuit of financial malfeasance.
In presenting the revised guidelines, Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty called the changes a substantial and direct response to a lobbying drive by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, among others.
