Oslo-listedStolt put in a profit of $18.6m for the three months to the end of February,down from $36.7m year-on-year.
Coreoperating profit of $45.8m fell short of the $52m analysts has charted.
Niels Stolt-Nielsen, chief executive of the shipowner,said: "Stolt-Nielsen Limited's results for the first quarter weredisappointing, particularly at Stolt Tankers, where both the spot and contractvolumes were lower than normal, reducing fleet utilisation.
