Benzinga | Jan 26, 2022 11:15AM EST

Norfolk Southern Clocks 11% Growth In Q4 Revenue, Beats Estimates

* Norfolk Southern Corp (NYSE:NSC) reported fourth-quarter railway operating revenue growth of 10.8% year-over-year to $2.85 billion, beating the consensus of $2.83 billion. Revenue was driven by a 15% increase in revenue per unit.

* Sales by segments: Merchandise $1.67 billion (+7.6% Y/Y), Intermodal $831 million (+13.8% Y/Y) and Coal $350 million (+20.7% Y/Y).

* Income from railway operations increased by 14.7% Y/Y to $1.13 billion, and the margin expanded to 39.6%, up 135 bps.

* EPS improved to $3.12 from $2.64 in 4Q20, beating the consensus of $3.04.

* Railway operating expenses were $1.7 billion (+8% Y/Y) to higher fuel and purchased services expenses. Railway operating ratio was 60.4%, an improvement of 140 bps compared to 4Q20.

* Norfolk Southern generated an FY21 operating cash flow of $4.26 billion, compared to $3.64 billion a year ago. Free cash flow was $2.79 billion.

* The company held cash and equivalents of $839 million as of December 31, 2021.

* FY22 Outlook: Norfolk Southern expects revenue to grow in upper single-digit year-over-year and an improvement of 50-100 bps in Operating ratio.

* Dividend: Norfolk Southern board approved a 14% increase in the quarterly dividend from $1.09 to $1.24 per share, payable February 21, 2022, to shareholders of record on February 4, 2022.

* Price Action: NSC shares traded higher by 1.38% at $271.02 on the last check Wednesday.