BUSINESS BRIEFS
Isle gas prices still the highest
Advertiser Staff
Hawai'i continues to lead the nation when it comes to having the highest gasoline prices, according to the American Automobile Association.
The survey said Hawai'i's average price is $2.86 a gallon. The average national self-serve regular gasoline price is $2.23 a gallon.
New Jersey had the lowest statewide price at $2.05 a gallon.
FISH-FARMING PRODUCTION UP
Kona Blue Water Farms says it is now producing up to 10,000 pounds of its sashimi-grade Kona Kampachi fish per week at its undersea farm off the Big Island.
The company, noting a recent study detailing the plight of fisheries, said its fish-farming method in water more than 200 feet deep has no discernible impact on water quality and produces fish with no detectable mercury levels.
The fish raised at Kona Blue Water Farms, known as amberjack, or kahala in the wild, are marketed by the company under the trademarked name Kona Kampachi.
HOME BUILDER REPORTS DECLINE
D.R. Horton Inc. said its sales order backlog for its West region, an area that includes Hawai'i, Washington, Idaho, Nevada and Oregon, fell by about one-fifth in the third quarter compared to a year earlier. The company, the country's largest home builder, also reported homes closed in the West region during the three months ending Sept. 30 were 1,416, or five fewer than a year earlier.
The Fort Worth, Texas-based company said its net profit declined to $277.7 million in the third quarter from $563.8 million a year earlier. The company's Hawai'i operations include homes built by its Schuler Division.
LONGS DECLARES 14-CENT DIVIDEND
Longs Drug Stores Corp., the largest operator of drugstores in Hawai'i, said its board of directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of 14 cents per common share.
The dividend will be payable on Jan. 10 to stockholders of record at the close of business on Nov. 28.
