Matson's 1st-quarter profit falls 63 percent

HONOLULU (AP) -- Shipping and logistics company Matson Inc. said Tuesday it earned $3.4 million during the first quarter, far below its profit of $9.1 million a year earlier because of the timing of fuel surcharge collections.

Matson CEO Matt Cox said demand in Hawaii and elsewhere is staying strong even though the surcharges significantly hurt the company's results for the quarter.

"Our businesses are running well and continue to generate substantial cash flow," Cox said in a statement.

Revenue dropped less than 1 percent to $392.5 million.

The earnings amounted to 8 cents per share for the quarter that ended March 31, down from 21 cents per share during the same quarter a year ago.

The company also said it paid $1 million in legal expenses related to the spill of about 1,400 tons of molasses into Honolulu Harbor in September. The substance oozed from a pipe that was thought to be sealed off, killing about 26,000 fish and other marine life.

Matson said Tuesday that it doesn't yet know how future costs related to the spill might affect the company in future quarters.

Shares of Matson dropped 85 cents, or 3.5 percent, to $23.71 on Tuesday before the results were released. They were unchanged in afterhours trading.

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Oskar Garcia can be reached at http://twitter.com/oskargarcia .