Matson, Inc stock rallied on Friday after the US liner operator and shipowner revealed preliminary second-quarter earnings that showed analysts may have been too pessimistic about its earnings performance.
Honolulu, Hawaii-based Matson guided investors to expect 2Q net income and diluted earnings per share (EPS) to be $76.3 to $81.5 million and $2.14 to $2.28, respectively.
Analysts’ consensus estimates are for EPS of $1.99, according to FactSet.
The company said it expects operating income for Ocean Transportation to be between $78 million and $83 million for the three months to June 30, 2023, while Logistics will likely report operating income in the range of $13.5 million to $14.5 million.
The year-over-year decrease in consolidated operating income was driven primarily by the lower contribution from its China service, the company said in a statement.
"Matson's Ocean Transportation and Logistics business segments performed well despite a challenging business environment and sluggish economic growth," commented chairman and CEO Matt Cox.
"Within Ocean Transportation, our China service saw higher sequential quarterly freight demand but generated lower year-over-year volume and freight rates, which were the primary contributors to the year-over-year decline in our consolidated operating income.”
Matson is scheduled to release its results on August 1.
Its shares were up 13% at $92.97 shortly after midday in New York.
Contact the author at stephen.gunnion@proactiveinvestors.com