CSX Was The First Rail Co. To Report Q1 Earnings; In-Line Results

Shares of CSX Corporation CSX gained more than 3 percent early Wednesday morning after the company reported its first-quarter results Tuesday.

CSX said it earned $0.37 per share in the first quarter on revenue of $2.618 billion. Wall Street analysts were expecting the company to earn $0.37 per share on revenue of $2.68 billion.

CSX noted that its quarterly revenue fell 14 percent due to a lower fuel recovery, a 5 percent volume decline and a $95 million year-over-year decline in other revenue related to payments received from certain customers. The impacts more than offset pricing gains across nearly all markets due to an improving service product and volume growth in various sectors, including automotive, intermodal, minerals and waste and equipment.

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CSX added it realized efficiency gains of $133 million in the quarter and lower volume-related costs of $64 million. Fuel expenses fell by $78 million in the quarter, which helped lower the company's quarterly expenses by 12 percent.

Operating income for the quarter fell $139 million to $704 million year-over-year, while CSX's operating ratio increased 90 basis points to 73.1 percent.

"As we managed through the impact of the continued coal decline and other market forces during the first quarter, CSX took aggressive actions to improve efficiency, reduce costs and streamline resources across the network to further reshape the company," said Michael J. Ward, chairman and chief executive officer. "While CSX delivered strong efficiency gains in the first quarter, we continue to expect full-year earnings per share to decline in 2016 as a result of ongoing coal headwinds combined with other market fundamentals. At the same time, CSX remains focused on meeting and exceeding customer expectations while driving further efficiency savings to maximize shareholder value and achieve a mid-60s operating ratio longer term."