By Tess Stynes
CSX Corp. (CSX) Chief Financial Officer Fredrik Eliasson said
the railroad company's volume growth picked up in the first five
weeks of the second quarter, as he reiterated the railroad
company's expectations for modest earnings growth this year and
double-digit profit growth starting next year.
"With winter behind us, volume growth has picked up strongly,
and we have visibility to several million new tons of domestic coal
as inventories are normalizing and natural gas prices have risen,"
Mr. Eliasson said.
CSX volume increased 9% through the first five weeks of the
second quarter, with broad-based growth across nearly all markets,
he said.
Mr. Eliasson spoke to investors and analysts Thursday at an
industry conference.
Last month, CSX said its first-quarter earnings fell 14% as
winter-related disruptions contributed to higher costs and weighed
on revenue growth.
Over the longer term, railroad companies including CSX have been
hurt by a slump in demand for coal used to generate electricity.
Coal has lost major market share to natural gas in recent years as
power generators switch to gas, due to the fuel's low cost as well
as power companies' efforts to meet tighter emissions
regulations.
Write to Tess Stynes at tess.stynes@wsj.com
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