Matson sees Q4 diluted EPS $1.65-$1.78, consensus $1.25

Expects 4Q23 operating income for Ocean Transportation to be $61M-$66M. Expects 4Q23 operating income for Logistics to be $8M-$9M. “Matson’s Ocean Transportation and Logistics business segments performed well in the fourth quarter, capping off a solid year for both business segments” said Chairman and CEO Matt Cox. “Our China service experienced solid freight demand with higher year-over-year volume but lower year-over-year freight rates, which when combined with higher operating costs across all tradelanes resulted in a year-over-year decline in Ocean Transportation operating income. Currently in the Transpacific marketplace, we continue to see steady U.S. consumer demand, which we expect to lead to similar demand for Matson’s CLX and CLX+ services in 2024 as in 2023. Absent a significant change in the trajectory of the U.S. economy, we expect trade dynamics across all our tradelanes in 2024 to be comparable to 2023 as consumer-related spending activity is expected to remain stable.” Cox added, “In our domestic ocean tradelanes, we saw lower year-over-year volumes in Hawaii and Alaska and higher year-over-year volume in Guam compared to the levels in the same period last year. The year-over-year volume declines in Hawaii and Alaska were primarily due to lower general demand and lower seafood volume, respectively. The year-over-year volume increase in Guam was primarily driven by higher general demand. In Logistics, operating income decreased year-over-year primarily due to a lower contribution from transportation brokerage. As a result, Matson expects fourth quarter operating income for Ocean Transportation of $61.0 to $66.0 million and Logistics operating income of $8.0 to $9.0 million. We also expect fourth quarter 2023 net income and diluted EPS to be $57.7 to $62.2 million and $1.65 to $1.78, respectively.”