Bank of Hawaii Corp.'s first-quarter profit handily beat Wall Street's expectations amid signs the local economy is recovering.

The bank also announced that Allan Landon, chairman and chief executive officer, will retire by the end of this year and will be replaced by Bank of Hawaii President Peter Ho.

For the first quarter, the company earned $52.7 million, or $1.09 a share, compared with $36 million, or 75 cents a share, last year. A consensus forecast of analysts surveyed by Bloom- berg News Service was for earnings per share of 63 cents excluding special items.

Bank of Hawaii's shares rallied on the news, climbing $2.32, or 4.8 percent, to close at $50.92 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Provision for credit losses fell to $20.7 million in the first quarter, a 16.9 percent drop from $24.9 million a year earlier. Net interest income rose 3.9 percent to $107.9 million from $97.3 million a year ago.

"Bank of Hawaii Corp. began 2010 with good financial performance," Landon said. "Our profitability remained solid, and the Hawai'i economy is showing signs of stabilization," he said in a statement.

Landon said the elevation of Ho to CEO is part of leadership transition that had been planned "for some time."

"Peter and I have worked together for the last 10 years, through the good and challenging economic times," Landon said. "The bank's performance during that period speaks for itself."

The bank also said deposits rose to $9.49 billion as of March 31, up from $9.21 billion a year earlier. Total assets rose to $12.44 billion as of March 31, up from $11.45 billion a year earlier.

Bank of Hawaii's financial results follow a solid first-quarter performance reported last week by First Hawaiian Bank.

First Hawaiian earned $51.3 million during the January-through-March period, down from $74.5 million during the same quarter a year earlier. The year-earlier figure included a one-time $25 million tax gain. Excluding the gain, First Hawaiian's first-quarter earnings rose 2.8 percent.