CSX Corp. reported Tuesday first-quarter earnings of 78 cents a share, doubling earnings from the first quarter of 2017 and 12 cents higher than the average forecast of analysts, according to Yahoo Finance.
The 2017 earnings included restructuring costs related to the Jacksonville-based company's reduction of 950 management employees, which reduced earnings by 12 cents a share.
CSX cut 4,600 jobs last year, including contractor positions, throughout its operations in the eastern U.S.
The company said in January it expects to cut an additional 6,200 jobs over the next three years, largely through attrition, to reduce total employment to 21,000.
The company reported 23,019 employees at the end of the first quarter this year, down from 24,006 at the end of 2017.
CSX's revenue in the first quarter was $2.88 billion, about the same as the first quarter of 2017, but the company said expenses excluding reduction charges fell 8 percent.
“Since implementation of scheduled railroading began in March 2017, CSX has taken significant strides to transform the organization and to make CSX more competitive,” CEO James Foote said in a news release.
“Our company’s operating model provides substantial opportunities to leverage our service product offering, capture growth and deliver superior financial returns.”
Precision railroading is the operating system implemented by Foote’s predecessor, Hunter Harrison, who became CEO in March 2017 but died in December.
