Matson saw its shares fall as much as 11% today after the liner operator missed earnings estimates and issued a subdued forecast for growth in key markets.

The Jones Act shipowner reported net income of $19.4m for the fourth quarter, which was 27% below the year-earlier quarter. Earnings per share of $0.44 were also short of analysts' estimates.

Matson shares traded down $3.57 to $32.91 in reaction to the earnings.

In addition to the earnings miss, the company said operating income in ocean transportation will be lower this year. Stifel analyst Ben Nolan said the near-term guidance was lower than expected and it could be an "unexceptional year" for Matson.

Surcharges late to help earnings

Chief executive Matt Cox says the company faced higher bunker fuel prices in the fourth quarter, resulting in higher operating expenses. It passed along bunker fuel surcharges to its customers, with the latest to take effect in March.

But the 30-day notice required for surcharges caused a mismatch between the notice and collecting surcharges, Cox said. Bunker fuel prices will also cause first quarter operating income to fall to around $14m compared to $33m in the year-earlier quarter.

"It’s not uncommon for unexpected changes in fuel prices to have this kind of tiny impact on our quarterly results," Cox told analysts on the company's earnings conference call.

Earnings improvement in 2019

Overall, ocean transportation operating income will be lower in 2017 compared to the $141.3m seen last year due to modest losses in its Guam business,

Nolan says Matson's Guam container service suffers from more competition from APL, which has deployed its second vessel to Guam, and the continuing weakness in the local economy.

Alaska volumes may also drop in 2017 due to the state's economy suffering the effects of lower oil prices. Nolan expects volumes to drop 2% this year.

Matson saw better volumes into Hawaii, whose economy is still growing. But increased competition and modest market growth may lead to a slight dip in Hawaii volumes this year.

Matson, which has four vessels on order, should see earnings improve as the more fuel efficient, larger ships reduce operating expenses. But Nolan does not expect the improvements to materialise until 2019.