(The Associated Press circulated the following article on December 21.)
OMAHA, Neb. — Shares of Union Pacific Corp. surged on Tuesday after the company said it was raising its fourth-quarter outlook, despite a charge of $153.6 million — or 58 cents a share — to reflect an increase in its liability of asbestos-related claims.
Excluding the 58-cent per-share charge, the company expects fourth-quarter earnings to range from 82 cents to 87 cents. That far outpaces its previous estimates of 65 cents to 75 cents per share.
On Tuesday, the company’s stock rose $3.42, or 5.5 percent, to close at $65.67 on the New York Stock Exchange. The stock has traded in a 52-week range of $54.80 to $69.56.
The increased outlook primarily reflects stronger-than-anticipated commodity revenue growth of 8 percent, the company said Tuesday in a written release. That’s up from the 5 percent growth originally anticipated.
Partially offsetting that growth are continued high operating expenses, the company said.
Union Pacific’s rail lines cover 23 states in the western two-thirds of the country. It is a leading carrier of low-sulfur coal used in electrical power generation and has broad coverage of the large chemical- producing areas along the Gulf Coast.