(Reuters) – Railroad operator CSX reported first-quarter revenue and profit below Wall Street estimates on Wednesday, as gains in intermodal were offset by a decline in coal revenue and fuel surcharge.
Demand for coal has been hampered by consumers switching to cheaper natural gas stockpiles for energy, but that trend is expected to change after U.S. President Donald Trump signed executive orders earlier this month aiming to boost coal production.
“CSX faced operational challenges to start the year, which contributed to first quarter results that did not meet our expectations,” CEO Joe Hinrichs said in a statement.
Intermodal shipping, which involves two or more means of transportation for goods, saw a 2.1% rise in volume during the quarter, while that of coal fell 8.5%.
The company reported revenue of $3.42 billion for the quarter ended March 31, below analysts’ estimate of $3.47 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.
It reported a profit of 34 cents per share, also missing expectations of 37 cents.
CSX’s operating margin for the quarter was 30.4%, down from the 36.3% it posted a year ago.
Shares of the Jacksonville, Florida-based company were marginally down in after-hours trading.
(Reporting by Anshuman Tripathy and Utkarsh Shetti in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)
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