First Hawaiian Bank snapped a seven-year string of increasing quarterly profits — but the 151-year-old company still managed to post near-record results during the second quarter.

First Hawaiian said yesterday that it earned $53.6 million during the three months ending June 30, a 2.6 percent decrease from a record second quarter last year.

The results came on revenues of $175.6 million, which was up 5 percent from the year-earlier period.

"Overall, the bank continued to perform well," said Don Horner, First Hawaiian's chairman and chief executive officer.

"We anticipate our growth rates to slow over the next 18 months as the economy remains weak. However, bank core earnings, margins, capital, and credit quality all remain strong."

First Hawaiian's last quarterly profit decline came in the second quarter of 2002. Since then, the company had enjoyed a number of record quarters, reflecting a local economy that had been booming.

Year-to-date earnings are up 15.1 percent to a record $128.1 million.

Assets increased by 4.1 percent to $13.6 billion while deposits grew by 9.6 percent to $9.9 billion. Total loans and leases are up 6.6 percent to $7.9 billion.

Founded in 1858, First Hawaiian is the state's oldest and largest financial institution. The company is a unit of California-based BancWest Corp., which is a subsidiary of French banking giant BNP Paribas.