KCS forecasts 20% second half growth

KCS forecasts 20% second half growth    Kansas City Southern said Thursday its rail network has fully recovered from the impacts of Hurricane Alex and related tropical storms that interrupted service on its system in Mexico.
   KCS said it projects near 20 percent revenue growth in the second half of 2010.
   'August volumes represent the highest number of monthly carloadings to-date in 2010″ and were 13.7 percent over August 2009 and slightly over pre-recession 2008 August volumes, said Michael Upchurch, KCS executive vice president and chief financial officer.
   'We have sufficient visibility into our markets and book of business to project that, excluding the impact of the hurricane on July revenues, KCS's second half 2010 revenue growth should approach 20 percent,' Upchurch told the Hodges Capital Management Investment Forum in Dallas.    'This is especially significant in light of the fact that KCS's business levels rebounded from the depths of the 2008-2009 recession sooner than for the other U.S. railroads. Since the company actually posted solid third and fourth quarter results in 2009, KCS's projected near 20 percent revenue growth in the second half of 2010 will be coming on some reasonably difficult comparables.”