Net income was $257 million, or 68 cents a share, for the quarter that ended March 31, up from $177 million, or 47 cents a share, in the first quarter of 2009. The earnings beat Wall Street projections by 2 cents a share. The average earnings-per-share estimate of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News was 66 cents.
Norfolk Southern's operating revenues for the first quarter rose 15 percent to $2.2 billion, from $1.9 billion in the same quarter last year.
It was the first time in 15 months that the Norfolk-based railroad, the nation's fourth-largest, was able to announce a year-over-year increase in net income. That last occurred on Jan. 27, 2009, when it reported fourth-quarter 2008 profit jumped 13 percent.
For all four quarters of 2009, profit decreases ranged from 32 percent to 45 percent.
"Looking ahead, we are increasingly convinced that the domestic economic recovery is well under way, although the rate of growth is still somewhat unclear," Norfolk Southern CEO Wick Moorman told Wall Street analysts in a teleconference late Tuesday. "...We saw a big upsurge in business in March, and while some of that was clearly catch-up from a snowbound February, we are very encouraged that our April volumes have continued to be strong."
Quarterly revenues were up across all of the railroad's business segments:
--General merchandise rose to $1.2 billion, a 23 percent increase from $975 million in the same quarter a year ago.
--Coal climbed to $629 million from $602 million last year, a 4.5 percent increase.
--Intermodal, involving the shipment of truck trailers and shipping containers, was up 12 percent, rising to $410 million from $366 million in the same quarter last year.
Norfolk Southern released its earnings after the close of trading on the New York Stock Exchange. In trading Tuesday, its stock fell $1.44 a share, closing at $59.65.
On Thursday, Union Pacific, the nation's largest railroad, reported that its net income for the first quarter rose 43 percent, to $516 million from $362 million in the same quarter a year ago. Revenue grew 16 percent, to $3.96 billion.
On April 13, CSX Corp., the third-largest, reported that first-quarter net earnings jumped 24 percent compared with the same quarter a year ago, to $306 million from $246 million. Revenue grew 11 percent, to $2.49 billion.
Burlington Northern Santa Fe, the second-largest, was acquired by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. earlier this year and no longer releases its own earnings.
Berkshire Hathaway's first-quarter earnings are expected to be announced early next month.
Norfolk Southern operates roughly 21,000 route miles in 22 states and the District of Columbia and serves every major container port in the eastern United States, including Hampton Roads. Earlier Tuesday, the railroad announced the regular quarterly dividend of 34 cents per share on its common stock, payable on June 10, to stockholders of record on May 7.
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