Matson volume decline leads to 1st quarter loss

Matson volume decline leads to 1st quarter loss    The parent company of Matson Navigation Co. posted first quarter net profit of $3 million, a 92.6 percent drop from the same period in 2008, when the company made $42.1 million.
   Alexander & Baldwin, which also operates a real estate development division, said 2008 first quarter earnings were exceptionally high due to real estate sales at a single project.
   The liner carrier Matson suffered a $500,000 first quarter loss. The company said Hawaii liner business was off 14 percent, while its China service was down 18 percent. Auto shipments plunged 44 percent compared to the same three months in 2008.
   'Matson has taken a number of measures to reduce its cost structure for these lower volumes but it takes time for these actions to produce tangible results,” said W. Allen Doane, A&B chairman and chief executive officer, in a statement.
   Doane said restructuring costs for the liner business, including trimming 15 percent of its non-union workforce, amounted to $6 million, meaning the line’s operating profit outside of those costs was $5.5 million.
   “In response to the steeper than expected declines in volume, in late March we successfully transitioned from a 10-ship to a nine-ship fleet deployment to reduce operating costs, and in May we will add a port of call in Xiamen to enhance our market presence,' he said.