Matson reported a drop in third-quarter profit that deeper than analysts expected, though chief executive Matt Cox made it clear he was hoping for a better result.
The Hawaii containership and conro owner delivered a third-quarter profit of $25m, which was 39.8% lower than the same period of last year.
Without a $10m charge related to the company's takeover of rival Horizon Lines, the company's adjusted earnings per share amounted to $0.72.
Stifel analyst Benjamin Nolan said the $0.58 in earnings per share was below the Wall Street consensus of $0.70.
Revenue dropped 8.1% to $500m, which was also above the average analyst estimate of $482m.
The company's core ocean transportation division delivered operating income of $42.7m, a 38% slump from the same period of last year.
Cox said the quarter's result was below New York-listed Matson's own expectations.
"In Hawaii, there was a lull in container volume following healthy market growth in the first half of the year," he said. "In Alaska, energy sector-related macroeconomic headwinds and a lower seafood harvest drove Matson's container volume below our expected levels."
But Cox said the company was encouraged by the performance of its China and Guam services.
Looking forward, Matson expects fourth-quarter operating income to slump in its ocean transportation business to 15% below the $43.6m earned in the same period of 2015.
Earnings snapshot
| Q3 2016 | Q3 2015 | |
| Ocean transportation revenue | $398m | $445m |
| Total operating revenue | $500m | $544m |
| Costs and expenses | $454m | $473m |
| Operating income | $46.4m | $52.2m |
| Net income | $25m | $41.5m |
The company expects Hawaii container volumes to show a decline in the fourth quarter compared to a year earlier, but it's China service should show volume gains.
Alaska should remain flat thanks to "muted economic activity".
The quarter's numbers fuelled a decline in nine-month earnings, which dropped to $61.1m from $76.4m a year ago.
