MATSON REPORTS 19% RISE IN THIRD-QUARTER OPERATING PROFIT

MATSON REPORTS 19% RISE IN THIRD-QUARTER OPERATING PROFIT    Alexander & Baldwin Inc., the parent company of Matson, reported a 19-percent increase in the third-quarter operating profit of its shipping arm, to $26.1 million.
   A&B said the improvement was made in spite of a nearly 60-percent increase in the price of bunker fuel, as compared to the year-earlier period.
   Third-quarter Hawaii container volume was 2 percent above the 1999 third quarter, and automobile volume was 28 percent higher.
   Ocean transportation revenue in the latest quarter was $211.2 million, up 14 percent from $185.5 million in the third quarter of 1999.
   For the nine-month period ended Sept. 30, operating profit from ocean transportation was $73.9 million, as compared to $65.5 million in the first nine months of 1999.
   Ocean transportation revenue for the nine-month period increased to $606.4 million this year, from $542.6 million in the corresponding period in 1999.
   The A&B group as a whole reported an operating income of $42.7 million for the latest quarter, up from $35.6 million a year ago.