(Reuters circulated the following article on October 19.)
CHICAGO — Union Pacific Corp. on Thursday said quarterly net profit rose a better-than-expected 14 percent as the biggest U.S. railroad benefited from strong agricultural and energy freight volumes.
The Omaha, Nebraska-based company said it was optimistic that the current quarter would be a strong one, too.
It said third-quarter net income increased to $420 million, or $1.54 a share, from $369 million, or $1.38 a share, a year earlier.
Revenue rose 15 percent to $3.983 billion.
Analysts on average forecast earnings per share of $1.47 on sales of $3.981 billion, according to Reuters Estimates.
Union Pacific said revenue from hauling agricultural products rose 19 percent. Energy revenue rose 17 percent, chemical revenue was up 14 percent, and autos revenue rose 10 percent.
“The coal business and ethanol business are really picking up,” said Don Hodges, a manager of the Hodges Fund in Dallas, Texas, which holds Union Pacific stock and manages assets of about $1 billion.
“On ethanol, especially, the railroads get them coming and going. They haul the corn to the plants where it’s made, and then they haul it back out because ethanol can’t go though a pipeline.”