Coal news and updates

Union Pacific Revenue, Profit Falls as Coal Slump Hits

Union Pacific Corp. reported Thursday that revenue fell a worse-than-expected 9.7%, as the railroad company struggled with low demand.

“Solid core pricing gains were not enough to overcome a significant decrease in demand,” said Chief Executive Lance Fritz. “Total volumes in the second quarter were down 6%, led by a sharp decline in coal. Industrial products and agricultural products also posted significant volume decreases.”

Coal freight revenue fell to $679 million from $989 million.

Agricultural products freight revenue fell to $867 million from $934 million.

Intermodal revenue fell 5.5% to $1.09 billion as industrial products fell 14% to $970 million.

Overall, Union Pacific reported a profit of $1.2 billion, or $1.38 a share, down from $1.29 billion, or $1.43 a share, a year earlier.

Revenue fell to $5.43 billion from $6.02 billion.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had expected per-share profit of $1.35 and revenue of $5.6 billion.

Shares, inactive premarket, have fallen about 18% this year.

source: http://www.wsj.com