GREENWICH, Conn. — A wire service reports that freight railroad operator Genesee & Wyoming Inc. on Thursday said its fourth-quarter earnings before unusual items rose 41 percent, topping analysts’ expectations, boosted by strong Australian carload volume in December.
G&W posted earnings of $4.8 million, or 53 cents a share, excluding items related to its 50 percent-owned Australian business. A year earlier it earned $3.4 million, or 47 cents a share, excluding a gain on the sale of half of its Australian Southern Railroad.
Wall Street earnings estimates had ranged from 43 cents to 44 cents a share, with a mean estimate of 44 cents, according to research firm Thomson Financial/First Call.
Greenwich, Connecticut-based G&W also announced it had approved a three-for-two split of its common stock, payable March 14 to shareholders of record Feb. 28.
Chairman and Chief Executive Mortimer Fuller said grain traffic for the 2001-02 Western Australia harvest moved earlier than expected, and the company now expects a harvest of 10.2 million tons, up from 7.3 million tons last year.