Shares in UTI Worldwide Inc. added nearly 3 percent early Thursday after the logistics company reported higher sales. Profits dropped 25 percent but that was because of a restructuring charge as well as higher expenses.

UTI posted first quarter net income of $13.5 million (13 cents per share), compared to $18.1 million (18 cents) in the same period a year earlier, missing analysts’ expectations of 17 cents per share, according to Thomson Financial.

Excluding a $4.4 million restructuring charge, the company earned $17.9 million (18 cents per share) for the most recent quarter.

Sales for the Long Beach-based logistics and freight forwarding company rose 26 percent to $1.19 billion, beating Wall Street’s predictions of $1.09 billion.

Besides the restructuring charge, UTI blamed the drop in profit on a 19 percent hike in expenses to $362 million, including a $2.5 million charge related to an ongoing freight forwarding industry investigation by the Department of Justice. UTI did not provide specifics about that investigation.

Shares in UTI were up 2.9 percent to $24 in early trading Thursday.