CSX's fourth quarter profit slipped 13%, but the railroad reported hauling slightly more freight and kept its trains running smoothly.
The Jacksonville, Florida-based railroad said it earned $886 million, or 45 cents per share, during the quarter. That's down from $1.02 billion, or 49 cents per share, a year earlier.
The results for the latest quarter were in line with what the analysts surveyed by FactSet Research predicted on average.
The volume of shipments the railroad delivered was up 1% even with all the uncertainty in the economy, while it posted the best service performance in the industry. CSX said its trains were moving an average of 18.3 mph during the quarter, up from 17.5 mph a year earlier, and they spent less time sitting in railyards — only 9.6 hours on average.
“Our railroad is running well, we have the right team and resources in place, and we look forward to building on our positive momentum with profitable growth over this next year,” CSX CEO Joe Hinrichs said.
CSX predicted that volume and revenue will both be up by the low to mid single digits this year, and the railroad should be solidly profitable thanks to strong pricing, improving efficiency and lower inflation.
It said it’s quarterly revenue declined 1% to $3.68 billion. That was above the $3.63 billion that analysts predicted.
CSX's expenses crept up 4% to $2.36 billion during the quarter.
CSX is one of the nation’s largest railroads, operating trains on more than 20,000 miles (32,000 kilometers) of track in 23 Eastern states and two Canadian provinces.