CSX Corp., the nearly 200-year-old railroad operator, said Tuesday that revenue fell in the first quarter because of what its CEO called “difficult operating conditions.”
Jacksonville, Fla.-based CSX
CSX,
-0.26%
said in a news release that declines in merchandise, coal and fuel surcharge revenue ate into other sales gains, pushing revenue down 1% to $2.81 billion, compared with $2.86 billion in the same period last year.
James Foote, president and chief executive, said in a statement that “the strengthening economic momentum is providing added visibility into volume growth, and we are taking the necessary steps to ensure we are ready to handle these volumes and provide our customers with an industry-leading service product.”
The company also reported net income fell more than 8% to $706 million, or 93 cents a share, compared to $770 million, or $1 a share, in the year-ago period. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast earnings of 96 cents a share on revenue of $2.79 billion.
CSX shares fell 2.2% after hours, after falling 0.26% in the regular session to close at $98.45. The company’s stock is up nearly 8.5% year to date, compared with nearly 11% for the S&P 500 Index
SPX,
-0.68%.
CSX shares have risen more than 61% in the past 52 weeks.
