Matson Inc. reported its first profit as an independent company Thursday, and CEO Matt Cox characterized it as "OK."

Cox told stock analysts in a conference call that business on China and Guam routes improved, compensating for a decline in Hawaii shipping that represents the core of the company’s business.

"It’s an OK quarter, but we’re not where we want to be," Cox said.

Matson, which was a subsidiary of Alexander & Baldwin Inc., became a stand-alone company June 29. Matson earned a $7.8 million profit in the second quarter, down from $18.7 million in the same quarter last year while the company was still part of A&B.

The structure of Matson’s separation from A&B requires that Matson’s net income for the recent and year-ago quarters include A&B’s non-Matson operations.

The A&B impact reduced Matson’s net income by $4.4 million in the second quarter and inflated Matson’s year-earlier net income by $12.3 million.

Operating income for Matson, which excludes A&B operations, was $32.5 million in the second quarter, up from $29.2 million a year earlier. Operating income in the recent quarter was reduced by $5.8 million in expenses for the separation. Revenue in the second quarter totaled $394.2 million, up from $377.4 million a year earlier.

Matson said Hawaii shipping volume was down 4.8 percent in the quarter to 33,900 containers from 35,600 containers a year earlier. The decline stems mainly from a depressed local construction industry and some cargo being shipped directly to Hawaii from Asia on other carriers. Cox said he expects flat to moderately lower Hawaii container volume during the second half of this year.

Automobile shipments to Hawaii on Matson were down 11.8 percent to 20,900 from 23,700 due to the timing of rental car replacements, the company said.

Matson’s China service was up 2 percent to 15,200 containers in the second quarter from 14,900 containers a year earlier. Higher rates in the China service also helped increase earnings in the recent quarter.

In Guam, Matson continued to benefit from a move late last year by competitor Horizon Lines to cease serving the Pacific island, as container volume was up 79 percent to 6,100 in the second quarter from 3,400 a year earlier.

Matson anticipates a new competitor will eventually emerge in Guam, but none has yet.

Cox said he is confident about Matson’s prospects as a stand-alone company after the separation from A&B.

Stock analysts were generally upbeat about the split, noting that Matson’s operating profit margin was good when excluding one-time separation costs.

Matson’s earnings in the second quarter also were dinged by a higher tax rate — 50 percent — because separation costs produce no tax benefit. Matson’s normal tax rate is about 39 percent.

Matson doesn’t expect to have any significant separation-related costs in future quarters. Income from A&B’s non-Matson operations also won’t be included in future quarter results. They will be included in comparisons with quarterly results before the separation because of regulatory rules.

The Securities and Exchange Commission requires that A&B’s non-Matson earnings be part of Matson’s earnings for quarters in which the two companies were affiliated. This is because the non-Matson parts of A&B were technically spun off into a new A&B, leaving Matson as the legacy company. Because of the setup, Matson’s earnings aren’t factored into the new A&B.

Shares of Matson stock closed Thursday at $24.75 before the earning’s announcement, up 12 cents from Wednesday. Since the separation, Matson stock has closed between a high of $27.83 on July 2 after the first day of trading and a low of $23.56 on July 24.