Kansas City Southern reports strong first quarter 2018 results

Kansas City Southern (KSU) reported a 5% jump in revenues for the first quarter of 2018 to $639 million compared to the prior-year period, helped by a 1% increase in carload volumes.

Reported net income came in at $145 million or $1.40 per share. Adjusted EPS rose 11% to $1.30, while Reported EPS improved just 1% versus the prior-year quarter.

Kansas City Southern beat market expectations on reported EPS but missed estimates on revenue and adjusted EPS.

Operating income grew 4%, while operating expenses were up 5% versus the first quarter of 2017.

During the first quarter, the company saw revenue growth of 17% in the Automotive segment, the highest in all commodity groups. Chemicals and Petroleum unit grew 10% and Intermodal segment increased 9%. Industrial and Consumer unnit improved 4% compared to the prior-year period.

However, the Energy and Agriculture commodity group saw a revenue decrease of 11% while Minerals dropped 2%. Kansas City Southern maintains its outlook of mid-single digit volume growth for the full year 2018.