(Reuters circulated the following article on July 27.)
CHICAGO — Norfolk Southern Corp., the No. 4 U.S. railroad, on Wednesday said its quarterly profit almost doubled due to one-time gains as well as strong demand and improved productivity.
Net income in the second quarter rose to $424 million, or $1.04 a share, compared with $213 million, or 54 cents a share, in the year earlier quarter.
Excluding the effects of Ohio tax legislation and settlement of two coal rate cases, the Norfolk, Virginia-based company earned 75 cents a share. That topped the 66 cents analysts had expected according to Reuters Estimates.
Railway operating revenue in the quarter rose 19 percent from last year to $2.15 billion. Analysts had expected $2.03 billion.
The second-quarter operating ratio of 72.5 percent was up 4.1 percentage points from last year, with the settlement of the coal rate cases contributing 1.2 points to the improvement.