Union Pacific profit misses estimates on lower crude shipments

[October 17, 2019]  (Reuters) - Railroad operator Union Pacific Corp <UNP.N> on Thursday reported a lower-than-expected quarterly profit, hit by a lower crude shipments.

The company's results come at a time when American railroads are seeing a slowdown in freight activity amid a U.S.–China trade war that has hurt global economic growth.

Union Pacific's operating ratio, a measure of operating expenses as a percentage of revenue and a key metric for Wall Street, fell 2.2 points to 59.5% from a year ago.

A lower ratio means more efficiency and higher profitability.

Union Pacific and Berkshire Hathaway-owned BNSF are the largest U.S. freight rail operators with annual revenue of more than $20 billion each.

The Omaha, Nebraska-based company's net income fell to $1.56 billion in the third quarter ended Sept. 30, from $1.59 billion a year earlier. [nPn2pcq1ba]

On a per share basis, the company's earnings rose to $2.22 from $2.15 a year ago.

Analysts, on average, expected a profit of $2.30 per share and revenue of $5.63 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

Total operating revenue fell to $5.52 billion from $5.93 billion.

(Reporting by Dominic Roshan K.L. in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)

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