BNSF’s 2nd-quarter income rises 28%

BNSFÆs 2nd-quarter income rises 28%    Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp., parent company of BNSF Railway Co., said Tuesday that record volumes in the second quarter helped its net income rise 28.4 percent to $470 million, from $366 a year ago.
   Second quarter operating income rose 21.5 percent to a record $863 million, compared to $710 million in the same period 2005. Total revenues also reached a quarterly best of $3.70 billion, up 17.9 percent from $3.14 billion. Freight revenues increased 18 percent to $3.59 billion.
   'BNSF continues to experience record demand for rail service across all of its business units,' said Matthew K. Rose, BNSF chairman, president and chief executive officer. 'Our 9-percent increase in volume for the second quarter, led by all-time record quarterly coal loadings, enabled BNSF to record its 17th consecutive quarter of year-over-year volume increases.'
   BNSF posted double-digit revenue increases in all four of its business groups during the second quarter. Coal revenues rose 21 percent to $713 million 'principally due to record loadings of Powder River Basin coal,' BNSF said. Consumer products revenues increased 19 percent to $1.48 billion, 'due to strong revenue increases in the international, truckload, less-than-truckload and parcel sectors.' Industrial products revenues increased 17 percent to $838 million while agricultural products revenues went up 14 percent to $562 million.
   For the year to date, BNSF reported a net income of $880 million, up 28.1 percent from $687 million after the first six months 2005. Operating income rose 23.1 percent to $1.65 billion from $1.34 billion. BNSF's total revenues for the first half were up 17 percent to $7.16 billion with freight revenue up by the same to $6.96 billion.
   BNSF Railway Co. operates about 32,000 route miles in 28 U.S. states and two Canadian provinces.