(The following article by Christopher Dinsmore was posted on the Virginian-Pilot website on April 27.)
NORFOLK, Va. — Despite a $35 million pre-tax charge for expenses related to the deadly Jan. 6 train derailment in Graniteville, S.C., Norfolk Southern Corp. reported a 22.7 percent jump in first-quarter income thanks to stronger revenue.
The railroad headquartered in Norfolk made $194 million in the January-to-March quarter, up from $158 million in the same period last year. Earnings per diluted share hit 47 cents compared to 40 cents a year ago.
Norfolk Southern’s revenue leapt 16 percent to $1.96 billion, an all-time record, on both traffic growth and higher prices.
“The quarter demonstrates we can maintain and improve on the momentum generated last year…,” David R. Goode, Norfolk Southern’s chairman and chief executive officers, told analysts at a meeting in New York Wednesday. “My basic message is we continue to roll.”
While its income was up, Norfolk Southern missed by a penny the 48 cents per-share-average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Financial.
Norfolk Southern shares fell $1.15 each to $31.81 in late-morning trading.
The train derailment in Graniteville, which released deadly chlorine gas and killed as many as 10, cost the railroad $35 million in the first quarter. The charge reduced its first-quarter income by $21 million, or 5 cents per share.