(The Associated Press circulated the following article on January 18.)
NEW YORK — Union Pacific Corp., the nation’s largest freight railroad, reports earnings for the fiscal fourth quarter on Thursday, Jan. 19. The following is a summary of key developments and analyst opinion related to the period.
EXPECTATIONS: Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial forecast earnings of 99 cents on $3.52 billion in revenue.
ANALYST TAKE: JP Morgan analyst Thomas R. Wadewitz raised his fourth-quarter earnings estimate by 4 cents to $1.04 in a client note Tuesday. Union Pacific and its largest competitors made pricing gains in the recent quarter, as the companies tacked fuel surcharges onto their rates. Fuel surcharges rose in November and December, even as diesel prices subsided somewhat, he said.
QUARTER DEVELOPMENTS: The Environmental Protection Agency in December ordered Omaha-based Union Pacific to finish the cleanup of lead contamination in east Omaha. The regulator and company have been trying to settle who should pay to clean up the 5,600 most contaminated properties at the site, a project estimated to cost at least $60 million. Elsewhere, a group of California residents who say they were exposed to toxic chemicals sued Union Pacific, claiming the company allowed the toxins to fester close to their neighborhood. In November, the company announced James R. Young, who has led the company’s railroad for nearly two years, would succeed Dick Davidson as corporate president and chief executive officer in January. Young also remains president of Union Pacific Railroad; Davidson remains chairman.
COMPETITORS: Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. in December closed its acquisition of South Dakota’s state-owned Core railroad line for $40.3 million. In another deal, New Mexico agreed to buy nearly 300 miles of track from BNSF for $76 million for use in a possible commuter line. BNSF reports quarterly results Jan. 24; Norfolk Southern Corp. reports quarterly results on Jan. 25.
STOCK PERFORMANCE: Shares of Union Pacific mostly climbed through the quarter. The stock, which traded at a year low of $58.18 in February, reached a 52-week high of $81.26 in late December.