Norfolk Southern’s profits down 12%

Norfolk SouthernÆs profits down 12%    Norfolk Southern Corp., parent of Norfolk Southern Railway Co., reported a second quarter net income of $375 million on Wednesday, down 11.5 percent from $424 million in the year prior quarter.
   The company's second quarter 2005 results included a gain of $120 million from the effects of Ohio tax legislation as well as the effects of the settlement of two coal rate cases. Excluding those items, Norfolk Southern said its second quarter 2006 net income was 23 percent higher.
   Second quarter 2006 income from railway operations was a record $677 million, a 14.4 percent increase compared to $592 million in the year-earlier period. Railway operating revenues also reached a record quarterly figure of $2.39 billion, 11 percent higher than the $2.15 billion in the second quarter 2005.
   General merchandise revenues were up 14.2 percent to $1.31 billion. Coal revenues improved slightly by 1 percent to $584 million, while intermodal revenues jumped 16.1 percent to $466 million. Carload shipments increased 4 percent to a record 2 million units.
   'Demand for rail transportation continues to grow in most sectors of our business, and our second-quarter results reflect strong volume growth and an improved operating ratio,' said Wick Moorman, Norfolk Southern's chief executive officer, in a statement.
   For the first six months of 2006, Norfolk Southern's net income was a best-ever $680 million, an increase of 10 percent compared to $618 million during the same period a year earlier. Income from railway operations totaled $1.23 billion, up 23.4 percent over the $995 million recorded after the first half last year. Railway operating revenue increased 14.1 percent to $4.69 billion from $4.12 billion.
   Norfolk Southern Railway and its subsidiaries operate about 21,200 route miles in 22 states, the District of Columbia and Ontario, Canada, serving every major container port in the eastern United States and providing connections to western rail carriers.