Genesee & Wyoming Beats Q1 Estimates

reported better-than-expected results for the first quarter on Friday. The Darien, Connecticut-based company reported a quarterly profit of $23.9 million, or $0.42 per share, compared to $40.0 million, or $0.70 per share, in the year-ago period. Excluding items, adjusted EPS climbed 18.6 percent to $0.83. Its total operating revenue rose 5.5 percent year-over-year to $397.0 million from $376.3 million. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.81 per share on revenue of $376.84 million. G&W's same railroad freight revenue slipped to $270.4 million in the first quarter, from $287.7 million, in the year-ago quarter. Its same railroad non-freight revenue rose to $89.7 million, versus $88.5 million. Its traffic in the first quarter rose 2.0 percent to 476,737 carloads. Adjusted income from operations surged 15.2 percent to $86.7 million. Jack Hellmann, President and CEO of G&W, said, "Looking ahead to the remainder of 2015, our business outlook varies by geography. In North America, overall economic activity is stable, although we expect continued weakness in utility coal, steel and scrap and certain shale-energy related shipments for the foreseeable future. In Australia, business conditions remain challenging, and, as previously disclosed, we expect our business to weaken due to the impact of customer mine closures. In the United Kingdom/Europe, we are focused on the successful integration of Freightliner and anticipate a strong financial contribution for the remainder of the year." Genesee & Wyoming shares fell 2.11 percent to close at $92.95 yesterday.