JOC Staff | Mar 19, 2013 7:52PM EDT
Florida East Coast Railway recorded a net loss of $13.3 million for the full year of 2012, improving $24.0 million, or 64 percent, from a net loss of $37.3 million in 2011.
Annual operating income was $53.0 million, up from $35.0 million in the previous year. Operating revenue in 2012 was $246.8 million, compared with $213.3 million in 2011.
FEC moved 457,686 freight units in 2012, including 355,015 intermodal units. In 2011, the company handled 428,120 units, including 350,608 intermodal units.
For the fourth quarter of 2012, the Class II railroad reported revenue rose $11.4 million, or 20 percent, from $56.6 million in 2011 to $68.0 million in 2012. It was FEC’s highest quarterly revenue since 2006, driven by intermodal pricing gains, as well as a 53 percent increase in carload volume and a 2 percent increase in intermodal volume, resulting in an overall volume increase of 11 percent, said Jim Hertwig, president and CEO of Florida East Coast Holdings, in an earnings review webcast.
Quarterly operating income in the fourth quarter of 2012 was $17.7 million, jumping $8.0 million, or 46 percent from $9.7 million in the same quarter in the previous year. Operating ratio in the quarter improved from 82.8 percent in 2011 to 74 percent in 2012, excluding a $3.5 million impairment charge.
The company continued its strategy in the fourth quarter to increase revenue per unit and to convert shipments from trailers to containers. “We will continue to reduce our rail-owned fleet of trailers and encourage customers to use our containers,” Hertwig said. “Container usage allows for double-stacking efficiencies and helps us optimize the length of our daily mainline trains.”