Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc.’s net income rose 2.5% in the third quarter due to lower operations and maintenance expenses from its utility and increased revenue from higher rate adjustments.

The parent company of the state’s largest utility and American Savings Bank reported Friday that it had earnings of $65 million, or 59 cents a share, to beat analysts’ forecast of 51 cents a share. HEI’s net income was negatively affected by American Savings setting aside $15.1 million for potential loan losses.

In the year-earlier quarter, HEI earned $63.4 million, or 58 cents a share.

Revenue for the parent company fell 16.8% to $641.4 million from $770.9 million. Analysts were forecasting revenue of $785 million.

“Our financial stability has enabled us to help our customers, our economy and our communities during this unprecedented time, and to continue to deliver solid financial results,” HEI President and CEO Connie Lau said in a statement.

Operations and maintenance expenses were $10 million lower from the year-earlier quarter due to fewer generating unit overhauls, lower labor cost due to lower staffing levels and reduced overtime, and elevated vegetation management work in the third quarter of 2019. The lower generation overhauls represented about half of the $10 million difference.

HEI also said its utility had a $5 million revenue increase from higher rate adjustments.

The company said COVID-related expenses from March 17 to year-end are being deferred as instructed by a state Public Utilities Commission order that the company received in June. HEI said it has requested an extension of that deferral through at least June 30 of next year and will have to file separately for recovery at a later date. The company said its utility’s COVID-related costs have been $12.4 million to date, mostly related to bad debt expense. The suspension of customer disconnections remain in place until year-end.

Lau said keeping customers’ rates down has been “a central focus for our utility,” noting that last month the PUC approved Hawaiian Electric’s settlement with the Consumer Advocate to not increase base rates in the utility’s Oahu rate case filing.

“Our utility continues to implement efficiency improvements to deliver on its customer savings commitments, even as it continues to press forward aggressively on our clean energy goals,” she said.

Chief Financial Officer Greg Hazelton said on the company’s earnings conference call that customers have benefited from lower fuel prices with a typical 500-kilowatt hour residential monthly bill on Oahu in October down $21 since March due to fuel price savings.

HEI’s net income for its utility segment rose in the quarter 28.4% to $60.1 million from $46.8 million, but revenue fell 18.3% to $562.6 million from $688.3 million. Kilowatt-hour sales at its three separate utilities were down 13% from the year-earlier period. Sales fell 11.1% on Oahu, 12.5% on Hawaii island and 24.7% in Maui County.

American Savings reported separately on Oct. 30 that its net income fell 46.9% to $12.2 million from $22.9 million in the year-earlier quarter primarily due to its loan-loss provision. That was partly offset by the bank’s mortgage banking income increasing fivefold to $7.7 million from $1.5 million in the year-earlier quarter because of increased loan originations.

HEI also announced Friday that American Savings has closed five branches with two more scheduled in December. Most of them had been temporarily closed earlier in the pandemic, HEI said. The branches that have been permanently closed are Stadium Sack N’ Save, University of Hawaii Campus, Market City Foodland, Liliha and Mililani Town Center. Branches that will close in December are Windward City and Prince Kuhio in Hilo. All of the affected branches are in close proximity to other American Savings branches, including the Liliha branch which is close to the new Kalihi branch.

On Wednesday, HEI’s board maintained the company’s quarterly dividend of 33 cents a share. It will be payable Dec. 10 to shareholders of record at the close of business on Nov. 20.

HEI’s stock rose 12 cents, or 0.4%, to $33.17 on Friday after the earnings were released.