Norfolk Southern Corp.’s fourth-quarter profit fell 14 percent because coal shipment revenues dropped 23 percent. But the railroad’s results still beat Wall Street expectations.
The Norfolk, Va.-based railroad said Tuesday that its quarterly profit declined to $413 million, or $1.30 per share, at the end of 2012. That’s down from $480 million, or $1.42 per share, a year earlier. Its quarterly revenue dipped to $2.68 billion from the previous year’s $2.8 billion.
According to FactSet, analysts had expected Norfolk Southern to post earnings of $1.19 per share on $2.67 billion in revenue. Norfolk Southern CEO Wick Moorman said increases in shipments of chemical, automotive and housing-related materials helped partially offset the coal decline.
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