BUSINESS BRIEFS
Waikiki hotel now a Best Western
Advertiser Staff
The Aqua Coconut Waikiki has been converted into a Best Western hotel.
The newly renovated, 81-room boutique hotel is now called the Best Western Coconut Waikiki Hotel. The hotel, at 450 Lewers St., is owned by 3D Investments LLC.
"Best Western is proud to welcome the Coconut Waikiki Hotel to our chain," said Mark Williams, vice president, North American development for Best Western International.
Best Western International is the world's largest hotel chain, providing marketing, reservations and operational support to more than 4,000 independently owned and operated member hotels in 80 countries and territories worldwide.
There are two Best Western hotels on O'ahu, two on Maui and one on Kaua'i.
HAWAIIAN TELCOM RATING LOWERED
Standard & Poor's Rating Services lowered its ratings on Hawaiian Telcom, saying it believes the company's "liquidity will be insufficient to service debt and fund operations through 2009."
The S&P downgrade includes a cut in Hawaiian Telcom's corporate credit rating to "CCC+" from "B-."
Lower credit ratings generally increase a company's borrowing costs.
S&P's assessment reflects "the challenging business environment, the company's weak operating results and its excessive leverage," Hawaiian Telcom analyst Susan Madison said in a news release.
Hawaiian Telcom has about $1.1 billion in outstanding debt as of June 30, S&P said.
ISLE TROPICAL FRUIT PRODUCTION UP 59%
Hawai'i's production of tropical specialty fruit shot up to 2.3 million pounds in 2007, a 59 percent increase from the previous year.
Production rose for all types of fruits, except for mango and persimmon, according to a report from the local office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service.
The value of sales was estimated at $4.5 million in 2007, up 71 percent from 2006.
Acreage devoted to specialty tropical fruits totaled 1,470 acres in 2007, up 7 percent from 2006.
LONGS DECLARES 14-CENT DIVIDEND
Longs Drug Stores Corp. declared a quarterly dividend of 14 cents per share payable on Oct. 10 to stockholders of record at the close of business on Aug. 26.
The dividend is unchanged from the previous quarter.
Longs, based in Walnut Creek, Calif., operates 521 stores in four states, including 39 in Hawai'i.
Last week announced it was being acquired by CVS Caremark Corp. of Rhode Island.
U.S. DRY CLEANING'S LOSSES MOUNT
U.S. Dry Cleaning Corp. a California-based company that owns several cleaning businesses in Hawai'i, said its financial losses widened in the latest quarter.
The company reported a net loss of $2.03 million, or 11 cents a share in the quarter ended June 30, up from $1.82 million, or 10 cents a share in same quarter a year earlier.
The company attributed the latest loss to "legal, accounting, financing, and merger and acquisition costs required for achieving rapid growth."
U.S. Dry Cleaning in June acquired Honolulu-based Caesars Cleaners. U.S. Dry Cleaning also owns Young Laundry and Dry Cleaning locally.
