Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc.'s third-quarter profit dropped 10.2 percent, reflecting the sluggish local economy.

The company yesterday reported earnings of $33.5 million, or 37 cents per share, during the three months ending Sept. 30, down from the year-earlier's $37.3 million, or 44 cents per share.

The results beat analysts' earnings forecast of 29 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters tracking company First Call.

Shares of HEI rose 49 cents, or about 2.8 percent, to close at $18.34 on the New York Stock Exchange yesterday.

"Given our expectations at the outset of the quarter for continued difficult economic conditions and delays in the regulatory process, our operating companies instituted disciplined efforts to control costs, which contributed commendably to mitigating these effects, and we are pleased with our companies' overall performance," said Constance Lau, HEI's chief executive.

HEI's board yesterday voted to maintain the company's quarterly cash dividend of 31 cents per share. The dividend is payable Dec. 10 to shareholders of record on Nov. 16.

The company said its utility income was up about 2.3 percent to $26.5 million due in large part to interim rate relief issued by the state Public Utilities Commission. In August, the PUC granted a partial, interim rate hike of 4.7 percent.

Kilowatt-hour sales, mean-while, were down 8 percent, reflecting the sluggish economy.

HEI's American Savings Bank subsidiary saw a 26.6 percent drop in its net income to $11.3 million. American Savings' net interest income was down 3.4 percent to $50.5 million.

"This has been a challenging year for financial institutions, and our bank's results continue to be impacted by the difficult credit cycle," Lau said.