Central Pacific to buy back stock
The board of Central Pacific Bank’s parent has approved a new stock repurchase program to buy back up to $30 million of the company’s outstanding common stock.
Repurchases may be made in the open market or privately negotiated transactions when deemed appropriate by management, the bank said.
Central Pacific Financial Corp. recently repurchased $125 million, or about 14.7 percent, of its common stock outstanding through a tender offer and private purchases from its two largest shareholders, which concluded April 7.
The additional $30 million share repurchase, upon completion, would represent an estimated 4.6 percent of the total shares outstanding as of Monday, based on the day’s closing price of $18.06.
"We are pleased to be in a position to deploy excess capital by repurchasing additional shares, which is consistent with our long-term plan to enhance shareholder value," Central Pacific President and CEO John Dean said.
Central Pacific’s stock closed down 26 cents at $17.80 Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange. The repurchase program was announced after the market closed.
KonaRed loss widens to $1.7 million
KonaRed Corp. dramatically underestimated the size of a first-quarter financial loss last month, and has revised the amount of red ink on its balance sheet.
The Kauai-based maker of drinks infused with coffee cherry fruit said its first-quarter net loss was $1.7 million in a financial report filed Tuesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In April the company announced a $995,000 estimated net loss for the period.
In the first quarter of 2013, the company reported a net loss of about $150,000.
KonaRed said in April that its estimated loss included stock options valued at $601,434 granted to a director on the company’s board as compensation for services.
In the new report, KonaRed said impacts to its bottom line included issuing stock for $654,545 of services and a $563,051 expense for a stock options grant.
Shares of KonaRed stock slipped 1.5 cents to close at 68 cents Tuesday after the earnings announcement. KonaRed went public in October, and its shares since then have ranged from 49.5 cents on April 7 to $1.24 on Jan. 27.
Pier 1 Imports opening Kapolei store
Pier 1 Imports is opening a store at Kapolei Commons in West Oahu on Friday and will give away prizes to the first 300 customers. The store at 4460 Kapolei Parkway is the seventh Pier 1 location in Hawaii and will feature a new concept using "open stock" merchandising, designed to give customers the opportunity to see, feel and interact with products before purchase.
Pier 1 has four stores on Oahu and one each on Maui, Kauai and Hawaii island.
Sports Authority to debut in Lihue
Sports Authority is opening Saturday at Kukui Grove Center in Lihue.
The sporting goods retailer will celebrate its grand opening with giveaways to the first 250 customers, as well as other prizes and festivities throughout the day.
Jesse Sapolu, a Super Bowl-winning former offensive lineman for the San Francisco 49ers, will sign autographs. There also will be a $100 gift card winner every hour, and shoppers can register to win a $500 shopping spree. The Kauai store will be the eighth Hawaii location for Sports Authority, which has stores on Oahu, Maui and Hawaii island.
City Mill stores holding demonstrations
City Mill will hold live demonstrations for various projects this weekend and other dates through August at its stores in Honolulu, Kaneohe, Pearl City, Kaimuki, Hawaii Kai, Mililani, Ewa Beach and Waianae. Call City Mill for information.
Housing debt still traps 10 million Americans
WASHINGTON >> Nearly 10 million Americans remain financially trapped by homes worth less than their mortgage debts — an enduring drag on the U.S. economy almost seven years after the housing bust.
During the first three months of this year, 18.8 percent of homeowners with a mortgage owed more on their loans than their properties would sell for, according to online real estate database Zillow. That’s an improvement from the 25.4 percent figure of a year ago, but the share of such “underwater” homeowners is about four times the historic average.
An additional 18.1 percent of mortgage holders were “effectively” underwater: They had equity, but proceeds from selling their home would be too low to recoup the sales costs and put a down payment on a new property.
ON THE MOVE
HomeStreet Bank has hired two experienced mortgage loan officers to assist clients with purchasing and refinancing home loans:
» Shad Woodland will work out of the Honolulu Home Loan Center.
» Michael Nakatsu will be based in the Pearl City Home Loan Center.
Aqua Hotels and Resorts, a division of Aqua Hospitality, has announced Stacy Manzo as director of sales for the oceanfront Aqua Kauai Beach Resort. She will work with the hotel’s catering and sales teams to drive sales from all the distribution channels as well as create special promotional packages and develop partnerships and relationships with meeting planners, key wholesalers and corporate clients. Manzo’s experience includes being account director of leisure sales at Westin Princeville Ocean Resort Villas and Sheraton Kauai and various director roles for Outrigger Hotels & Resorts and Turtle Bay Resort.
