Cargo Business Newswire

Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Union Pacific Q1 earnings beat expectations

Union Pacific Corp. reported first-quarter profit higher than expected as the railroad cut costs and increased prices to offset a big drop in cargo demand, pushing shares to their highest value in five months.

Earnings declined to $1.16 a share from $1.30 a
year earlier, the company said in a statement Thursday. That beat the $1.10 average of 25 analysts' estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Core pricing increased 2.5 percent, easing the impact of an 8 percent drop in freight volume.

The company reduced its workforce by 5,175 last year and has put 1,400 locomotives in storage to adjust to the reduced shipping.

"The commercial team really did an excellent job of securing 2.5 percent price in an environment where volume is down 8 percent," CEO Lance Fritz said in an interview. "There are a lot of headwinds, as you can imagine in those conversations."

For more of the Bloomberg story: www.bloomberg.com