(The following appeared on The Journal of Commerce website on March 28, 2011.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Rail equipment supplier Wabtec said a stronger U.S. freight railroad market is a big reason it expects first quarter earnings to be stronger than analysts were projecting and why it is increasing its full-year forecast.
Wabtec, which offers a range of products from air brakes to freight railcar undercarriage components to positive train control systems and new or rebuilt locomotives, said earnings for the January-March period should be 77 to 82 cents per diluted share. Reuters said the consensus analyst’s estimate was for 68 cents.
The company upped its earnings forecast for all of 2011 to $3.15-$3.25 a share, up from $2.90 as earlier projected. It now looks for revenue to grow 15 percent this year, compared with 10 percent growth in its previous guidance.
The full story is at www.joc.com.