Norfolk Southern railroad delivered 27% higher 3Q profit
Norfolk Southern hauled in 27% more third-quarter profit as the railroad increased shipping rates and reduced the number of delayed deliveries that shippers have been complaining about this year
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Norfolk Southern hauled in 27% more third-quarter profit as the railroad increased shipping rates and reduced the number of delayed deliveries that shippers have been complaining about this year.
The Atlanta-based railroad said it earned $958 million, or $4.10 per share, up from $753 million, or $3.06 per share, a year ago. Those results included a charge of $117 million, or 28 cents per share, related to the raises the railroad offered to its employees. Earnings per share also got a 58 cent boost from a state tax law change.
But even with those one-time changes, Norfolk Southern's results beat the $3.75 per share that analysts surveyed by FactSet were expecting.
The railroad said its average train speed improved to 19.1 mph (30.58 kilometers) during the third quarter, and the number of hours railcars spent waiting in terminals decreased to 25.9 hours. Both those measures are significantly better than the rest of the year as the railroad continued to hire more employees, although they still lag behind a year ago.
