Alexander & Baldwin Inc. eked out a small profit in the first three months of this year despite considerable weakness in its ocean transportation, real estate and agriculture businesses.

The Honolulu-based company yesterday reported earning $3 million in the first quarter, or 7 cents a share, down from $42.1 million, or $1.01 a share, in the same period last year.

Revenue was down sharply to $319.9 million in the first quarter from $578.7 million a year earlier.

"Our financial performance for the first quarter of 2009 was negatively impacted by the deepening national and international economic contraction," W. Allen Doane, A&B chairman and CEO, said in a statement.

The 93 percent decline in profit was mostly due to lower sales of real estate compared with a year earlier when A&B sold 300 units in its Keola La'i residential high-rise in Kaka'ako.

Keola La'i sales helped boost operating profit to $41.4 million in A&B's real estate sales division in the 2008 first quarter.

In the 2009 first quarter, operating profit for the division was $5.6 million largely from selling a Phoenix office property and land and ground leases on Maui.

A&B's ocean transportation subsidiary, Matson Navigation Co., swung to an operating loss of $500,000 in the first quarter, compared with an operating profit of $15.9 million a year earlier.

Matson's results primarily stemmed from a 44 percent decline in Hawai'i automobile shipments, which fell to 14,400 in the quarter from 25,600 a year earlier, and a 14 percent drop in Hawai'i container volume, which fell to 32,500 from 37,900 in the same comparable period. Container volume from China dropped 18 percent, to 9,600 from 11,700.

A $6 million restructuring charge from workforce reductions also helped push Matson operating profit into the red. Without the restructuring expense, Matson would have had a $5.5 million operating profit. The company made the cuts to aid future financial performance.

A&B also is cutting 10 percent of jobs in its corporate office and real estate division.

Combined, the job cuts at A&B are projected to save about $8 million annually, while other cost reduction initiatives are planned throughout this year.

The most stable division of A&B was real estate leasing, which posted a $12 million operating profit in the first quarter compared with $13.9 million a year earlier.

Agribusiness posted a $1.9 million operating loss in the first quarter, compared with a $4.8 million operating profit a year earlier.

The decline was due to lower sugar production and lower prices and sales of power related to sugar production.