HP splits its businesses

NEW YORK » Hewlett-Packard is splitting itself into two companies, one focused on its personal computer and printing business and another on technology services such as data storage, servers and software, betting it can drive faster sales growth with more-focused operations. HP has posted revenue declines in 11 of the past 12 quarters.

A&B finalizes purchase of Kakaako site

Alexander & Baldwin Inc. has completed an expected purchase of land in Kaka­ako from Kame­ha­meha Schools on which it plans to build a condominium tower.

The company announced Monday that the sale closed but did not disclose the purchase price.

A&B has had an option to buy the 3.3-acre parcel since 2012 as the company pursued a plan to develop a condo complex called The Collection on the site that was once home to a Comp­USA store at the corner of South Street and Ala Moana Boulevard.

A development permit was approved for the project last year, and A&B said it has sold 76 percent of the 397 tower units. There are also 54 condos in a planned, connected midrise building that sold out earlier this year. Another 14 townhomes are a third piece of The Collection and have yet to be offered for sale.

A&B recently put up a construction barrier around the site and expects work will begin soon and be finished in late 2016.

Hawaiian Air passenger traffic up 5.2%

Hawaiian Airlines’ passenger traffic rose 5.2 percent in September as the state’s largest carrier filled more of its seats.

The airline said Monday it transported 823,008 passengers last month compared with 782,120 in September 2013. The load factor, or percentage of seats filled, rose 2.2 percentage points to 82.5 percent from 80.3 percent in the year-earlier period.

Revenue passenger miles, or one paying passenger transported one mile, increased 3 percent to 1.16 million from 1.12 million.

Available seat miles, or one seat transported one mile, was virtually flat at 1.4 million.

Share of isle foreign-language homes falls

Despite its melting pot reputation, Hawaii is not among the top five states in which a foreign language is spoken at home. A new study by the Center for Immigration Studies found that a record 61.8 million U.S. residents speak a language other than English at home, an increase of 32 percent since 2000 and 94 percent since 1990.

Some 25.1 percent of Hawaii residents spoke a language other than English at home in 2013, ranking the Aloha State at No. 9 behind the 43.8 percent in top-ranked Cali­for­nia, 36 percent in New Mexico, 34.7 percent in third-ranked Texas, 30.4 percent in New Jersey and the 30.3 percent in Nevada.

New York, also an international melting pot, is at No. 6 with 30.1 percent.

By far the top foreign language spoken in America in 2013 was Spanish, at 38,417,235 speakers, followed by Chinese at 3,029,042; Taga­log, 1,612,465; Vietnamese, 1,428,352; and at No. 6, Korean, at 1,100,881. Japa­nese is the 15th most common foreign language, with 454,997 speakers, the center said.

The percentage of Hawaii households where a language other than English is spoken decreased to 25.1 percent in 2013 from 25.9 percent in 2010 and from 26.6 percent in 2000.

Cardax gets first analyst coverage

Cardax Inc., which began trading publicly in February, now has its first analyst coverage.

New York-based SeeThruEquity initiated coverage of the Hono­lulu-based biotech company before the stock market opened Monday with a price target of $1 a share. Cardax closed the day down 2 cents at 40 cents.

Cardax focuses on developing "nutraceutical" and pharmaceutical products aimed at reducing inflammation and stress.

"We view Cardax as a speculative growth investment in the biotechnology space with potential for a hit product in consumer health," SeeThruEquity wrote.

The company conducted a reverse merger earlier this year with Koffee Korner Inc. when it acquired the Houston-based company and began trading under the ticker symbol CDXI on the over-the-counter market.

SeeThruEquity said in its report that it expects Cardax, which has no revenue yet, to begin generating revenue in the second half of 2015, and it is forecasting the company to grow in 2016 and beyond.

The company had an operating loss of $13.2 million in the first six months of this year, mostly due to stock compensation expenses of $9.1 million, the report said.

Haleakala Solar taking Maui home off grid

Haleakala Solar Inc. announced its latest off-the-grid home on Maui.

The Waiehu-Waihee home will be disconnected from Maui Electric Co. soon after the blessing Oct. 16.

The home’s Aquion battery system stores 60 kilowatt-hours of electricity and has 17.6 kilowatts of inverter capacity. The home has 47 solar panels, a solar water heater and a propane generator.

The battery used for the system is not made of hazardous materials, is maintenance-free and has a life of 20 years, according to Hale­akala Solar. Three other interested homeowners are working with the solar company to go off the grid on Maui, said James Whitcomb, Hale­akala Solar’s chief executive officer.

ON THE MOVE

Kaiser Permanente Hawaii has promoted Connie Mah Trinacty to assistant science director at Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research Hawaii. Previously she was an assistant professor in population medicine at Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute.

The University of Hawaii Foundation has announced the following people to its board of trustees:

» Herb Conley served in various accounting and sales positions at Deloitte in Hono­lulu, Conley Dew and Coldwell Banker Pacific Properties.

» Ken Hayashida is an active contributor to Hawaii’s engineering community, including having founded Kai Hawaii as well as serving as president and national director of the American Council of Engineering Companies of Hawaii.

» Louise Ing is a stockholder/director of the law firm Alston Hunt Floyd & Ing. She also served in three previous terms with the UH Foundation board of trustees.

» Eric K. Martinson is a senior vice president and endowment and chief investment officer of the Queen’s Health Systems. He is also president of Queen Emma Land Co., a nonprofit established to support and advance health care in Hawaii.

» C. Scott Wo is the owner/executive of C.S. Wo & Sons, which is his family’s home furnishing business in Hawaii since 1909. Prior to returning to his family business, Wo served at Project Finance Group of Shearson Lehman Brothers in New York as well as Mergers & Acquisitions Group at Credit Suisse First Boston.

SHIP AHOY!

Today’s ship arrivals and departures:

HONOLULU HARBOR