Matson reports lower first quarter earnings

The Honolulu-based container carrier attributed the more than 60 percent decline in net income to the timing of fuel surcharge collections, lower volumes in its Hawaii and Alaska trades, and the deployment of an additional ship in Hawaii.    Honolulu-based container carrier Matson, Inc. reported a profit of $7 million in the first quarter of 2017, ended March 31, a 61.3 percent decline from $18.1 million in the same period a year ago, according to the company’s most recent financial statements.
   Operating revenues, on the other hand, grew 4.4 percent year-over-year to $474.4 million for the quarter.
   Matt Cox, Matson’s chairman and chief executive officer, said the company’s ocean transportation businesses “performed largely as expected in the first quarter, declining year-over-year primarily due to the timing of fuel surcharge collections, lower volume in Hawaii and Alaska, and higher vessel operating expenses related to the deployment of an additional vessel in Hawaii.
   “The results of Matson’s logistics business came in lower than expected due to market softness in both transportation brokerage and freight forwarding services,” he added.
   “For the balance of 2017, we continue to expect modest improvement in each of our core trade lanes with the exception of Guam, where we expect further competitive losses due to the launch of a competitor’s weekly service in December 2016,” said Cox. Singapore-based ocean carrier APL, now a subsidiary of France’s CMA CGM, competes with Matson for business in Guam, although APL transships cargo through Japan.
   Matson expects 2017 operating income to be lower than it was in 2016 and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) to approximate the level achieved in 2016, according to Cox.