First-quarter profit at Matson Inc. tumbled 61 percent as the largest ocean cargo transportation company serving the state absorbed higher fuel prices and small cargo volume declines in Hawaii, Alaska and Guam.

Honolulu-based Matson reported earning $7 million, or 16 cents per share, in the January-March period, down from $18.1 million, or 41 cents per share, in the same quarter last year.

Matt Cox, company chairman and CEO, said in a conference call with stock analysts that the results were expected.

“Matson’s core ocean transportation businesses performed in line with our expectations,” he said. “What’s happening in each of our markets is shaping up more or less the way we expected.”

The decline in Hawaii cargo volume was the result of an unexpected boost last year when a competitor, Pasha Hawaii, reconfigured its service after a ship breakdown. That windfall for Matson disappeared this year and contributed to a 6 percent Hawaii cargo volume drop — to 36,400 containers in the recent quarter from 38,500 a year earlier — even though Matson said total cargo volume coming into the state was up modestly in the recent quarter.

Matson also carried 20 percent fewer automobiles in its Hawaii service — 13,800 vehicles in the recent quarter compared with 17,300 a year earlier.

The biggest factor in Matson’s lower earnings was the timing of fuel cost increases and customer surcharge collections, company officials said. Prices for bunker fuel powering Matson ships have gone up since late last year and the company recoups the higher costs through customers after a lag because it gives a 30-day notice to customers before raising its fuel surcharge.

Since late last year, Matson has implemented four fuel surcharge increases, the last of which took effect in April. Matson did not quantify how much of a financial hit the fuel expenses were on its first-quarter results, but said it was the biggest negative factor.

“It’s not uncommon for fuel to have this kind of timing impact on our quarterly results, but over the year we expect this timing impact to be neutralized,” Cox said.

In Alaska, where Matson began service in 2015, cargo volume dipped 4 percent primarily because of economic contraction tied to the oil/energy industry, Matson said.

Another market with a decline was Guam, where container volume slipped 7 percent largely due to a competitor increasing the frequency of its service in December. Matson had enjoyed additional business in Guam for several years after another competitor withdrew from the market in 2011.

Business for Matson in its Micronesia/South Pacific market was flat.

One bright spot for Matson in the first quarter was China, where container volume rose 23 percent due to stronger customer demand and one more ship sailing in the recent quarter compared with a year earlier. Matson said its average rates for its China service also were higher.

Total revenue for Matson in the first quarter was $474 million, up from $454 million a year earlier. Expenses, however, also were higher largely because of fuel and also because Matson had to operate two older and smaller ships in its Hawaii service while doing maintenance on one larger ship.

For the balance of this year, Cox said Matson expects modest improvements in each of its core markets except for Guam, and that operating income for the full year will be lower than it was last year.

Shares of Matson stock closed on Wednesday at $30.78 before the earnings announcement, which is just a bit above a 52-week low of $30.56 on March 27. Matson’s stock closed on Tuesday at $31.66 and its 52-week high was $42.04 on Sept. 2.