RICHMOND, Va. — In a company press release, CSX Corporation today reported net income of $65 million, or 31 cents per share, for the fourth quarter of 2001, up from $54 million, or 26 cents per share, a year ago. Excluding the after tax expense of $37 million, or 17 cents per share, for the proposed settlement of the litigation filed against the company following a 1987 tank car fire in New Orleans, income for the quarter was $102 million, or 48 cents per share.
Despite the recession, surface transportation, which includes the rail and intermodal units, had its strongest earnings since the first quarter of 1999. Operating income was $246 million, excluding the litigation provision, up from $205 million in the fourth quarter of 2000. While revenues and carloads were down in the current period, cost takeouts and lower fuel expenses brought surface transportation’s operating ratio down to 86.2 percent versus 88.7 percent in last year’s fourth quarter.
John W. Snow, chairman and chief executive officer, noted: “2001 has been a year of marked, consistent progress for our company. The railroad management team met the challenges of the recession and did an extraordinary job lowering expenses, increasing productivity and gaining the confidence of more and more customers. With network velocity and on-time reliability reaching all-time highs, we were able to raise rates in certain markets and take substantial volumes off the highways. We are looking for more improvement this year and should produce substantially higher earnings when the economy recovers.”
Michael J. Ward, president of CSX Transportation, added, “With service at much higher levels, we now have a compelling transportation product to sell and the entire organization is geared up for growth. The railroad operated at well below capacity in 2001. The track infrastructure, locomotive and car fleets are in good shape, and we are continuing to find ways to utilize these assets more efficiently.”
The recession and the slowdown in business following the events of Sept. 11, drove down chemicals, autos, metals, paper, minerals and intermodal revenues for the quarter but coal remained solid.
On a consolidated basis, fourth-quarter operating income was $221 million compared to $218 million. Excluding the litigation provision, fourth-quarter operating income was $281 million, an increase of 29 percent over the fourth quarter of 2000. CSX marine businesses had strong gains, supplementing the improvement at the railroad. “Here too, management is making a big difference,” Snow said. “Both CSX Lines and CSX World Terminals are running lean and maintaining strong market positions in a very difficult environment for the container shipping industry.”
For the full year 2001, CSX net income from continuing operations was $293 million, or $1.38 per share, compared to $186 million, or 88 cents per share, for 2000. Excluding the litigation provision, net income from continuing operations was $330 million or $1.55 per share, an increase of 77 percent.
CSX Corporation, based in Richmond, Va., operates the largest rail network in the eastern half of the United States. It also provides intermodal, domestic container shipping and global terminal operations.