CSX Corporation (NASDAQ: CSX) took some bruising on the markets Wednesday, on revealing better-than-expected profit for its second quarter and announced a $500-million share buyback plan.
The Jacksonville-based company announced second-quarter 2017 net earnings of $510 million, or $0.55 per share, up from $445 million, or $0.47 per share, in the same period of last year. Excluding a $122-million restructuring charge in this year’s second quarter results, adjusted earnings per share was $0.64
Revenue for the second quarter increased 8% when compared to the previous year, with growth across nearly all markets. This growth was primarily driven by coal-related gains, strength in core pricing and volume across the other markets, and increased fuel recovery.
According to a release issued after the markets closed Tuesday, CSX “delivered improved asset utilization, cost control and fuel optimization” in the second quarter.
“These operational improvements, coupled with the benefits from the management restructuring that was completed early in the second quarter, drove $90 million in efficiency gains. These gains more than offset the cost of inflation in the quarter.”
As indicated off the top, the company’s board of directors authorized an additional $500 million for the current share repurchase program, which now totals $1.5 billion. As part of this program, nearly $500 million of company shares were repurchased in the second quarter.
CSX provides rail, intermodal and rail-to-truck transload services and solutions to customers across a broad array of markets, including energy, industrial, construction, agricultural, and consumer products.
Its shares retreated Wednesday $2.99, or 5.5%, to $51.66.
