(Reuters circulated the following article on October 17.)
CHICAGO — U.S. railroad company CSX Corp. said on Tuesday its quarterly net profit rose, citing improved service, higher volumes and strong pricing, coming in above market expectations.
The company said its third-quarter net income was $328 million, or 71 cents a share, compared with $164 million or 36 cents per share a year earlier.
Wall Street analysts had expected earnings per share of 51 cents, according to Reuters Estimates.
Excluding insurance payments related to Hurricane Katrina and resolution of some tax matters, earnings were 54 cents per share before items.
“Improved service, growing volumes and continued strong pricing drove our third-quarter financial results,” CSX Chief Executive Officer Michael Ward said in a statement.
CSX reported revenue for the quarter of $2.42 billion, compared with $2.12 billion a year earlier. Analysts had expected revenue for the quarter of $2.37 billion.
Freight volumes were up 2 percent on the year, while yields were up 12 percent with improvement in all the markets in which CSX operates, the company said.
CSX has lagged some of the other U.S. railroads in improving service to meet demand as U.S. imports have risen and utilities seek more coal. The company has shown significant improvements over the past few quarters as it has worked on boosting the speed of its train network.