Railroad transportation company CSX reported higher-than-expected earnings for the first quarter, on the back of lower expenses and higher traffic.
The quarterly earnings came in at $1.02 a share, beating Wall Street estimates of 91 cents a share (based on FactSet survey). It also exceeded the year-ago quarter’s 78 cents.
Revenue of $3.01 billion was in line with analysts' expectations. The freight-focused company cited merchandise volume growth and broad-based pricing gains as factors behind strong revenue performance. CSX’s expenses declined -2% year-over-year to $1.79 billion, owing to efficiency gains – according to the company.
The company experienced a +17% year-over-year growth in operating income, which touched $1.22 billion in the quarter.