NS Profit Up 59 Percent to $392 Million

Norfolk Southern Railway’s second quarter net profit surged 59 percent to $392 million, the railroad said, while revenue rose 31 percent from a year earlier to $2.43 billion.

NS, one of the f two major rail networks in the eastern half, said pricing and productivity gains pushed its profit margin up 16.1 percent of revenue in the latest quarter from 13.3 percent of sales in the 2009 period.

Charles W. Moorman, the carrier’s chairman, president and CEO, said traffic increased 22 percent in the April-June period, marking the fourth straight quarter of volume growth. “We are optimistic about continued year-over-year increases in rail traffic,” he said.

A combination of productivity gains and price increases helped swell receipts. Revenue ton miles per train hour rose, as did measures of carloads and operating revenues per employee. Revenue per unit hauled grew to $1,413 a load from $1,315 in the 2009 quarter, a 7.5 percent increase.

NS also raised its quarterly dividend for shareholders by 6 percent or 2 cents a share, to 36 cents payable Sept. 10 from 34 cents previously.

--Contact John Boyd at jboyd@joc.com.