Matson projects an increase in third-quarter profit

For the second time this year, Matson Inc. has given a heads-up to shareholders and the public by sharing “preliminary” financial results ahead of a normal quarterly earnings report.

Hawaii’s largest ocean cargo transportation firm announced Thursday that it expects its profit for the three months ended Sept. 30 will be between $67.2 million and $69.4 million.

That would top last year’s third-quarter profit of $36.2 million.

“Matson’s businesses continued to perform well in the third quarter despite the ongoing challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic and related economic effects,” Matt Cox, company chairman and CEO, said in a statement.

The company said its projected profit increase was driven by its dramatically expanded service from China begun earlier this year. Cargo volume for Matson’s Alaska and Guam serv­ice was up a little, while container volume for Hawaii was down 1%.

Matson is scheduled to release its normal earnings report for the third quarter on Nov. 2.