Kansas City Southern reports record quarterly revenue

Kansas City Southern on Friday reported a record quarterly revenue of $650 million, bolstered by increases in grain and automotive shipments.

The railroad company said second-quarter revenue was up 12 percent from the same quarter in 2013.

The second-quarter profit increased to $130 million from $15 million in the second quarter last year.

Kansas City Southern said total carload shipments increased 7 percent for the three months that ended June 30. Grain and mineral shipments climbed 33 percent from the same period in 2013 and automotive freight increased 25 percent. Intermodal and industrial and consumer products grew 14 percent and 10 percent, and chemical and petroleum revenue increased 6 percent.

Energy revenue, however, declined 5 percent, largely because of a dip in utility coal shipments, the company said.

David Starling, the company’s president and chief executive officer, said he is optimistic about business in the second half of 2014, but he cautioned that growth in grain shipments will decline from first-half results.

For the first half of 2014, Kansas City Southern reported a profit of $224.2 million on revenue of $1.26 billion. That’s up from a year-ago profit of $120 million and revenue of $1.13 billion.

This story was originally published July 18, 2014 at 10:26 AM with the headline "Kansas City Southern reports record quarterly revenue."