FORT WORTH, Texas — U.S. railway operator Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. on Tuesday said second-quarter profits dropped as freight revenues weakened from a year earlier, reports a wire service.
The Fort Worth, Texas, transport giant, the second-largest U.S. railroad behind Union Pacific Corp. (NYSE:UNP – News), said in a news release that quarterly net income was $194 million, or 51 cents a share, down from $195 million, or 50 cents a share, on a larger number of outstanding shares.
Wall Street had expected Burlington Northern to earn between 45 cents and 50 cents, with a consensus forecast of 49 cents, according to nine analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call.
Burlington Northern shares closed on Monday at $26.97, down 71 cents, or about 2.5 percent, on the New York Stock Exchange. Burlington Northern has lost about 11 percent so far in 2002, which is a bit worse than other U.S. railroads, but much better than the roughly 30 percent loss in Dow Jones U.S. Total Market Index.