(The following story by Reuters was published on Forbes.com)
KANSAS CITY, Missouri — Rail group Kansas City Southern on Thursday posted a higher quarterly profit.
The Kansas City, Missouri, holding group for freight-hauler Kansas City Southern Railway, said fourth-quarter profit was $17.4 million, or 28 cents a share. In the corresponding quarter of 2001, the company earned $11.1 million, or 18 cents a share.
Wall Street had expected Kansas City Southern, which also owns rail interests in Panama, to earn between 12 cents a share and 19 cents a share, with a consensus forecast of 16 cents, according to six analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call.
Shares of Kansas City Southern closed down 2 cents at $12.06 on Wednesday. The shares have dropped 26 percent during the past six months, while the Dow Jones U.S. Railroads Index has declined about 10 percent.