<p>OMAHA, Neb. — Norfolk Southern’s profit improved in the first quarter as the railroad hauled 3% more freight while the economy continued to recover from thee coronavirus pandemic.</p>
<p>The railroad said Wednesday that it earned $673 million, or $2.66 per share, during the quarter. That was up from $381 million, or $1.47 per share, a year ago when Norfolk Southern’s profit was weighed down by a one-time charge of $385 million. Without that charge, profit was up 1%.</p>
<p>The results beat Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of five analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $2.55 per share.</p>
<p>"The reopening of the economy provides meaningful tailwinds for continued strength in both the consumer and manufacturing sectors,” said Jim Squires, the railroad’s chairman, president and CEO.</p>
<p>Norfolk Southern reiterated that it expects its revenue to grow roughly 9% this year as industrial and consumer-related shipments remain strong.</p>
<p>Norfolk Southern’s revenue increased 1% to $2.64 billion in the period, which also beat Street forecasts. Three analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $2.61 billion.</p>
<p>The railroad cut its expenses 3% to over last year’s adjusted results to $1.6 billion as it continued to overhaul its operations to improve efficiency. If last year’s one-time charge were included, expenses would be down 21%.</p>
<p>The Norfolk, Virginia-based company is one of the nation’s largest railroads, and it operates about 19,500 miles of track in 22 states and the District of Columbia</p>
<p>Norfolk Southern shares have climbed 19% since the beginning of the year, while the S&P’s 500 index has climbed 11%. The stock has climbed 69% in the last 12 months.</p>
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<p>Elements of this story were generated by Automated Insights (<a href="http://automatedinsights.com/ap">http://automatedinsights.com/ap</a>) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on NSC at <a href="https://www.zacks.com/ap/NSC">https://www.zacks.com/ap/NSC</a></p>
