Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc. said several one-time factors helped the company's earnings rebound in the first quarter compared with the same period a year earlier.

HEI netted $34 million, or 41 cents per share during the three months ending March 31, up from an abnormally weak first quarter of 2007 when the company earned 8 cents per share, or $6.8 million.

The results exceeded Wall Street's expectations. Analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research had forecast earnings of 33 cents per share during the quarter. HEI stock rose 28 cents to close at $25.42 on the New York Stock Exchange yesterday.

"First quarter earnings recovered from the depressed levels a year ago on better results from both utility and banking operations," said Constance Lau, HEI's president and chief executive officer.

Comparisons with the company's performance in first quarter 2007 were skewed by a $7 million write-off that the company took during that quarter to pay for expansion of its Keahole, Kona, power plant. For the first quarter 2006, the company earned $32.3 million, or 40 cents per share.

The latest quarterly results also factor in an interim rate increase approved by the state Public Utilities Commission, which boosted the electric utilities' earnings by $14 million.

HEI said the net income from its utility operations increased $24.6 million during the latest quarter.

The company, which provides the electricity to more than 400,000 residential and business customers, noted that kilowatt hour sales at Hawaiian Electric Co., Maui Electric Co. and the Big Island's Hawaii Electric Light Co. were flat during the quarter.

Earnings at its bank subsidiary, American Savings Bank, increased by $3 million to $14.6 million due to lower interest expenses.

"Given the volatility of the financial and credit markets, we are especially pleased with the bank's solid first quarter results," Lau said.