NEW YORK - Bermuda-registered Sea Containers Ltd. (SCRA) said it is "mystified" by the recent decline in its stock price because the company's fourth-quarter and 2002 earnings were better than expected.

The transport company's New York Stock Exchange-listed shares hit a 52-week low of $5.90 on Wednesday, and have declined more than 30% since trading around $9 at the beginning of the year.

In a press release Thursday, Sea Containers said its 2002 earnings per share will be significantly higher than the $1.40 it reported for the first nine months of the year, and a "huge improvement" from the 24 cents a share it earned in 2001.

The company said its results for the fourth-quarter were helped by improved marine container leasing and cost savings from its GNER rail unit.

Sea Containers said it has exhausted its shelf registration made in November for sale of its common shares and the shares of Orient Express Holdings Ltd. (OEH).

On January 29, Sea Containers President James Sherwood filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission to sell 260,162 shares of the company's Class A stock, for proceeds of $2.1 million. The filing indicates an intention to sell restricted stock, but it isn't a commitment to do so.

Sherwood said he doesn't intend to sell any of his shares at the company's recent distressed prices.

Sea Containers' shares recently regained some of their losses, trading at $6.64, up 64 cents, or 10.7 percent, on composite volume of 264,500 shares. Average daily volume is 58,567 shares