Matson Reports 2015 First Quarter Earnings

Matson, Inc. announced a significant increase of $0.57 in share earnings for the first quarter of 2015, ending March 31.  The increase is up from $0.08 reported in the first quarter of 2014.

The company also reported a net income of $25 million, and a consolidated revenue of $398.2 million, compared with $392.5 million reported for the same period last year.

Matson’s President and Chief Executive Officer commented on the reported earnings, “Performance improved across all lines of business, led by continued levels of exceptional demand for our expedited China service, modest yield improvements in Hawaii and Guam, and further improvements in Logistics operations and SSAT. In addition, lower bunker fuel prices positively impacted our results, primarily due to timing differences as fuel surcharge collections outpaced fuel expenditures. Our businesses are performing well and continue to generate substantial cash flow that, combined with our strong balance sheet, provides ample capacity to close our pending Alaska acquisition, fund new vessel construction commitments, and comfortably sustain our dividend.”

Cox added, “We continue to be encouraged by our prospects in Hawaii, and in a strengthening broader economy that will produce volume growth in our Jones Act markets and in Logistics. However, with new vessel capacity expected to enter our core Hawaii market in the second quarter of this year, we expect our Hawaii container volume for the year to be relatively flat with 2014. Our premium expedited service offering from China is expected to remain in high demand and we anticipate modest profit at SSAT. Overall, we remain well positioned to deliver 2015 operating results moderately higher than those we achieved in 2014.”

In the second quarter of 2015, the company expects to complete its acquisition of Horizon Lines, Inc.