WORCESTER – Providence and Worcester Railroad Co. (Nasdaq: PWX) climbed out of the red in the three months ended Sept. 30, posting a third-quarter profit of $534,000, or nearly triple its year-ago profit of $181,000, on operating revenue that rose 11.51 percent to $8.14 million.
Earnings per diluted share rose to 11 cents from the 4 cents per share of the 2007 third quarter, P&W said. Results for the quarter just ended included $484,000 in pre-tax gains from the sale of property and equipment, compared with $10,000 in similar gains in the year-ago period – the most recent for which the company had posted positive net earnings. P&W’s revenue did increase sharply this spring, but did not succeed in outpacing costs, the company said in its second-quarter report. (READ MORE)
The railroad operator has been reeling over the past year as container traffic declined – a trend that began in the second quarter of 2007 – while fuel costs rose. “A larger proportion of container traffic from the Far East is now being transported to the East Coast of the United States by ship and, consequently, less is being transported from coast to coast by rail,” the company said in its 2007 third-quarter report. (READ MORE)
Container-freight revenue continued to decline in the quarter just ended, falling 34.9 percent compared with a year ago, P&W said.
But that increase was partly offset by a 14.9-percent year-over-year increase in revenue from conventional freight, driven by greater shipments of ethanol and automobiles – commodities the company began handling in the last half of 2007 – and higher traffic in steel ingots and coal. “That increase was offset somewhat by decreases in shipments of construction aggregates, chemicals, building products and other commodities during the quarter, which appear to be largely attributable to the economic slowdown experienced by the United States economy,” P&W added.
Energy prices also continued to be an issue, despite their decline from July’s record highs. Third-quarter expenses for diesel fuel increased by $489,000, or 72.8 percent, “as a result of sharply-increased prices for petroleum products,” the company said.
At its regular meeting on Oct. 29, P&W’s board of directors declared a quarterly dividend of 4 cents per share on the company’s outstanding common stock. That dividend is payable Nov. 26 to shareholders of record on Nov. 12.
Providence and Worcester Railroad Co. (Nasdaq: PWX) is a regional freight railroad operating in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut and New York. To learn more, visit www.pwrr.com.
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