(The following article by Stacie Hamel was posted on the Omaha World-Herald website on April 29.)
OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific Corp. reported Thursday it had first-quarter net income of $165 million, or 63 cents per share. That’s down 62 percent from last year’s first quarter but represents an 11 percent increase when one-time events are eliminated from 2003 figures.
Last year’s first-quarter net income of $429 million, or $1.67 per share, benefited from a one-time accounting change and income from a trucking unit that U.P. sold later in the year. Without those, last year’s first-quarter net income was 57 cents per share.
The Omaha-based company, which operates the country’s largest railroad, said last month that it would not meet its first-quarter earnings target because of a severe winter, service delays due to crew shortages and a $35.8 million charge for an Arkansas jury verdict.
“The first quarter of 2004 challenged us both operationally and financially,” Chief Executive Richard Davidson said in a statement. “We saw exceptionally strong demand for our services. Unfortunately, several factors, including our service challenges and the impact of truly adverse weather conditions, eroded the strong revenue gain.”
The per-share earnings of 63 cents exceeded the 59 cents predicted by 12 analysts surveyed by Thomsen Financial.
This year’s first-quarter results benefited from a $38.6 million one-time reduction in taxes the company paid in Missouri – mainly due to moving employees to Nebraska – and Texas, said spokeswoman Kathryn Blackwell.
Revenue for the quarter was a record $2.9 billion, a 6 percent increase from $2.7 billion for the same period last year.
U.P.’s stock price dropped 15 cents to $59.74 per share by midday Thursday.