OMAHA, Neb. — A wire service reports that Union Pacific Corp., North America’s biggest railroad operator, said on
Thursday second-quarter profits rose sharply on cost cutting and modest gains in revenues.
The Omaha, Nebraska firm, which also owns major trucker Overnite Transportation, said net income rose to $304 million, or $1.15 a share, from $243 million, or 95 cents, a year earlier.
Wall Street had expected Union Pacific to earn between $1 and $1.10 a share, with a consensus forecast of $1.07, according to 10 analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call.
Union Pacific shares, which have risen on wavering investor optimism about the U.S. economy, closed on Wednesday at $59.32, up $1.17, on the New York Stock Exchange. Union Pacific is up about 2 percent so far in 2002, more or less in line with other railroads, but far ahead of a 22 percent loss in the Dow Jones U.S. Total Market Index.