JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Profits increased during the first three months of the year at the parent company of Jacksonville’s CSX Transportation despite a drop in revenue, the Florida Times-Union reported.
CSX Corp. said its first-quarter earnings reached $25 million, or 12 cents per share, up from $20 million and 10 cents per share during the same period last year. CSX’s first-quarter operating income totaled $212 million compared with $189 million in the 2001 quarter. Revenue was $1.96 billion vs. $2.03 billion a year ago.
At CSX’s rail and intermodal businesses, first-quarter operating earnings were $194 million vs. $182 million a year ago.
Revenue was down 3 percent, and carloads were 4 percent lower than in the first quarter of 2001.
Combined earnings from CSX’s marine business were up 33 percent from a year ago.
CSXT president Michael Ward continued his winning ways. The three-month period was the railroad’s eighth consecutive quarter in which its earnings exceeded the previous year’s earnings. And most of that happened in a sluggish economy.
“The railroad had strong results while operating in a difficult environment,” Ward said. “Far less coal was carried than a year ago because of the mild winter, and merchandise shipments were down. But margins were up as price increases were achieved in certain markets, fuel expenses were lower, and we realized the cost benefits of a smooth-running railroad.”
The price of diesel fuel was 27 cents a gallon cheaper than the first quarter of 2001, saving the railroad $40 million, Ward said.
The company also has 2,600 fewer employees, mostly due to attrition and early retirements. But Ward said he expects to bring back 300 laid-off workers and hire an additional 1,200 during the coming year as the economy starts to recover.
“It’s not across the board,” he said, “but we’re seeing some encouraging signs that the economy is coming around.”
CSX Corp., based in Richmond, Va., operates the third-largest railroad in the United States. The company has about 4,100 workers in Jacksonville.