Railroad CSX posts higher 4Q profit as freight volume, revenue rise

CSX Corp.'s fourth-quarter profit rose 15 percent as the railroad operator hauled more freight in fall, a busy shipping season.

The Jacksonville, Florida-based company said Tuesday that freight volume rose 6 percent, with the largest growth in chemicals, minerals and coal.

Net income grew 15 percent to $491 million, or 49 cents per share, from $426 million, or 42 cents per share. Revenue climbed 5 percent, to $3.2 billion from $3.03 billion.

The latest results matched forecasts by financial analysts, which called for earnings of 49 cents per share on $3.18 billion in revenue, according to a survey by Zacks Investment Research.

Looking ahead, CSX Corp. anticipates double-digit growth in earnings per share this year.

Railroads carry cars, chemicals, fuel, crops, lumber and containers of imported goods across the nation, so their earnings reflect the health of many industries.

CSX operates more than 21,000 miles of track in 23 Eastern states and two Canadian provinces.

For 2014, CSX reported net income of $1.93 billion, or $1.92 per share, compared with net income of $1.86 billion, or $1.83 per share, the year before. Revenue grew 5 percent, to $12.67 billion from $12.03 billion.

CSX shares added 32 cents to $33.87 in aftermarket trading. The stock is down 7.4 percent in 2015, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index has dropped 1.7 percent.

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Elements of this story were generated by Automated Insights using data from Zacks Investment Research.

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Keywords: CSX, Earnings Report, Priority Earnings