CSX 1Q profit rises slightly as restricting limits profit

OMAHA, NEB. >> CSX Corp.’s first-quarter profit rose about 2 percent as the railroad hauled more, but its results were hurt by restructuring expenses.

The Jacksonville, Florida-based railroad said Wednesday that it earned $362 million, or 39 cents per share. That’s up from $356 million, or 37 cents per share, a year ago.

The railroad said that without the $173 million restructuring charge it would have delivered earnings per share of 51 cents.

The analysts surveyed by FactSet expected CSX to report adjusted earnings per share of 43 cents.

CSX said its revenue improved 10 percent to $2.87 billion. Analysts expected $2.76 billion.

CSX announced 1,000 layoffs of management employees in February, and the railroad is in the early stages of major operational changes after hiring CEO Hunter Harrison, who led Canadian Pacific’s turnaround.

Harrison was hired in March after the Mantle Ridge hedge fund pressured the railroad to make changes. Harrison has a track record of reducing costs and boosting profits through the scheduled operating model he developed at CP and Canadian National.

“I am pleased to join the CSX team and working together we are going to make this company the best North American railroad, capable of consistently meeting and exceeding the expectations of our customers and our shareholders,” Harrison said in a statement

with Wednesday’s earnings report.

Citi analyst Christian Wetherbee said Harrison appears to be off to a solid start at CSX after the railroad posted better-than-expected results in the quarter.

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

Its shares have risen 31 percent since the beginning of the year when it was first reported that Harrison might take over as CEO. During the same period, the Standard & Poor’s 500 index has climbed slightly more than 4 percent.

The company’s stock rose $1.33, or nearly 3 percent, to $48.26 in after-hours trading following the release of the earnings report.