(Forbes.com posted the following Reuters story on April 23.)
MIAMI — Leading freight railroad Norfolk Southern Corp. on Wednesday posted a small decline in quarterly profits amid rising fuel prices and soft coal shipments.
The Norfolk, Virginia, railroad, with lines covering the eastern United States and Ontario, said first-quarter profit from continuing operations and before accounting changes was $85 million, or 22 cents a share, compared with $86 million, or 22 cents a share, a year earlier, when fuel was relatively cheap.
Analysts had expected earnings between 18 cents a share and 23 cents a share, with an average forecast of 21 cents a share, according to a survey of a dozen analysts by Thomson First Call.