Why Matson Shares Are Surging Today?

Matson Inc MATX shares are surging today after the company announced strong preliminary second-quarter FY23 results.

The company expects Q2 2023 net income and EPS of $76.3 million-$81.5 million and $2.14-$2.28 (consensus $1.46), respectively.

For the Q2 2022, the company reported net income of $380.7 million, or $9.49 per diluted share. The company reported net income of $34.0 million, or $0.94 per share, for the first quarter of 2023.

"Matson's Ocean Transportation and Logistics business segments performed well despite a challenging business environment and sluggish economic growth," said Chairman and CEO Matt Cox.

Matson expects second-quarter operating income for Ocean Transportation to be $78.0 million-$83.0 million and Logistics to be $13.5 million-$14.5 million.

The company noted the decrease in consolidated operating income driven primarily by lower contributions from China service.

"Currently in the Transpacific marketplace, we are seeing modest reductions in deployed capacity and retail inventories are in a relatively better position than earlier in the year, but retailers continue to carefully manage inventory levels in the face of lower consumer demand," said Chairman and CEO Matt Cox.

Matson's cash and cash equivalents as of June 30, 2023, were approximately $120.0 million, with $462.4 million in total debt.

During Q2, Matson repurchased approximately 0.6 million shares for a total cost of $42.4 million and had about 3.3 million shares remaining in its share repurchase program. 

Price Action: MATX shares are trading higher by 14% at $93.61 on the last check Friday.