(The Associated Press circulated the following article on January 25.)
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Railroad and transportation conglomerate CSX Corp. reported Tuesday that fourth-quarter earnings dropped by about half, mostly because of charges from the planned sale of its foreign port operations.
But its earnings excluding the charges beat Wall Street estimates and its shares rose more than 5 percent.
Jacksonville-based CSX reported net income of $66 million, or 30 cents per share, in the October-to-December period, compared to $123 million, or 56 cents a share, a year earlier.
Earnings were reduced by $93 million, or 41 cents a share, because of last month’s agreement to sell CSX’s international shipping terminals to Dubai Ports International for $1.15 billion.
Excluding those charges, CSX earned 71 cents a share. That beat analysts average estimate of 62 cents a share, according to Thomson First Call.
“CSX’s earnings were driven by the continued strength in the economy and by continuing operations. Notably, this quarter represents the fourth straight quarter in which CSX has delivered consistent, continuous improvement in our core earnings,” said Michael J. Ward, the company’s chairman, president and chief operating officer.
Ward said the company expects to close on foreign ports transaction in the first quarter, allowing CSX to focus on its core surface transportation business.
In a conference call, Ward predicted increased use of rail transport because of highway congestion and climbing insurance and fuel costs in the trucking industry.
“The demand for our services is very strong and it will continue to be so,” he said.
Revenue for the quarter was $2.17 billion, compared to $1.90 billion a year ago. Improvements were attributed to the company’s merchandise, coal and intermodal markets.
Mark Levin, an analyst with Davenport & Co. of Richmond, Va., said the company was headed in the right direction in its turnaround.
CSX shares rose $1.97, or 5.3 percent, to close at $38.96 on the New York Stock Exchange Tuesday. The stock has traded in a 52-week range of $28.80 to $40.46.
For the full year, CSX reported net income of $339 million, or $1.52 a share, compared to $246 million, or $1.11 a share, a year earlier. Full-year revenues were $8.02 billion, up from $7.44 billion in 2003.
CSX owns the largest rail network in the eastern United States with a 23,000-mile network in 23 states, the District of Columbia and two Canadian provinces. CSX also provides intermodal and global container terminal operations through subsidiaries.