CSX’s earnings fell 22% in the third quarter as the railroad finished two major construction projects that were restricting traffic, but volume was still slightly up and results were weighed down by one-time charges.
The Jacksonville, Florida-based company said Thursday that it had profit of $694 million, or 37 cents per share, in the quarter. That’s down from $894 million, or 46 cents per share, a year ago. But without the $164 million goodwill impairment charge, the railroad would have earned $818 million, or 44 cents per share.
The revised figure just beat the 43 cents per share expected by analysts polled by FactSet Research.
CSX’s performance has suffered over the past year due to construction projects that have limited the railroad’s flexibility and reduced capacity. CSX completed repairs left over from Hurricane Helen and a major tunnel renovation in Baltimore last month, which should help improve its performance going forward.
Thursday’s report was the first since then New CEO Steve Angell He took the job late last month. Railways are under pressure from investors, e.g Ancora Holdingsto find another railroad to merge with, so that CSX could better compete with the combined Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern railroad if that A deal worth $85 billion Gets approval. But both of CSX’s potential merger partners — BNSF Railway and CPKC — said they They are not interested Into the deal because they believe the industry can better serve customers through cooperative agreements and avoid all the potential problems that come with a merger.
Most observers believe CSX and BNSF would be at a disadvantage if the Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger is approved. The transcontinental railroad would be able to provide more than a day’s delivery times because it would not have to deliver shipments between railroads in the middle of the country. So far, CSX and BNSF say they can realize most of the benefits of the merger through collaboration agreements instead.
Angell, 70, had never worked on railroads before, although earlier in his career he supervised a locomotive building unit at General Electric. He most recently served as CEO of Linde and Praxair and oversaw the merger of these two companies, which supply industrial gas to other companies.
CSX is one of the largest railroads in North America, operating in the eastern United States.