Union Pacific posts higher quarterly revenue on price hikes

[April 20, 2023]  (Reuters) -Union Pacific Corp posted a marginal rise in its first-quarter revenue on Thursday as the U.S. railroad operator benefited from price hikes and higher fuel surcharge revenue.  

Union Pacific livery on the side of a cargo locomotive is pictured ahead of a possible strike if there is no deal with the rail worker unions, at Union Station in Los Angeles, California, U.S., September 15, 2022. REUTERS/Bing Guan
 

The company's operating revenue rose to $6.06 billion in the quarter ended March 31, from $5.86 billion a year earlier.

Union Pacific, which connects 23 states in the western two-thirds of the country by rail, has been struggling with service issues amid an industry-wide labor shortage that has been impacting rail shipments.

Still, higher prices and fuel surcharge helped lift the company's revenue.

Operating ratio, a key profitability metric for railroads, came in at 62.1% in the quarter, compared with 59.4% a year earlier. The lower the ratio is, the better.

The company's net income remained unchanged at $1.63 billion in the quarter ended March 31, from a year-ago period.

(Reporting by Amna Karimi in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)

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