Post by Logan on Apr 22, 2016 4:33:30 GMT -6
Shares rise as Union Pacific details 11 percent payroll cut, focus on efficiency
Union Pacific executives said Thursday that they have trimmed the payroll by 11 percent in the past year and that they expect company workers to be even more efficient in the face of plummeting demand for freight hauling.
Wall Street approved. Shares of the company, which had declined 22 percent in the 12 months that ended Wednesday, rose 4.1 percent on news of the personnel reductions and efficiency charge. The share momentum came even as Omaha-based Union Pacific, the second-largest U.S. railroad behind Berkshire Hathaway-owned BNSF, said Thursday that first-quarter freight volumes fell for a fifth straight quarter.
Reduced demand from shippers sent volumes at U.P. down 8 percent in the quarter, with shipments falling or breaking even in five of the six main freight-hauling categories. While the company had a profit of almost $1 billion in the quarter, the dim outlook for shipping demand means that more will be expected from less at U.P.
“We will continue to squeeze out productivity,” Chief Financial Officer Rob Knight said on a conference call with analysts and investors. “We are challenging the entire organization, even administrative groups, to turn over every stone for additional opportunities to be more efficient.”
Read more: www.omaha.com/money/shares-rise-as-union-pacific-details-percent-payroll-cut-focus/article_9d9706b6-07ba-11e6-9e24-bf46b4ad16aa.html
Union Pacific executives said Thursday that they have trimmed the payroll by 11 percent in the past year and that they expect company workers to be even more efficient in the face of plummeting demand for freight hauling.
Wall Street approved. Shares of the company, which had declined 22 percent in the 12 months that ended Wednesday, rose 4.1 percent on news of the personnel reductions and efficiency charge. The share momentum came even as Omaha-based Union Pacific, the second-largest U.S. railroad behind Berkshire Hathaway-owned BNSF, said Thursday that first-quarter freight volumes fell for a fifth straight quarter.
Reduced demand from shippers sent volumes at U.P. down 8 percent in the quarter, with shipments falling or breaking even in five of the six main freight-hauling categories. While the company had a profit of almost $1 billion in the quarter, the dim outlook for shipping demand means that more will be expected from less at U.P.
“We will continue to squeeze out productivity,” Chief Financial Officer Rob Knight said on a conference call with analysts and investors. “We are challenging the entire organization, even administrative groups, to turn over every stone for additional opportunities to be more efficient.”
Read more: www.omaha.com/money/shares-rise-as-union-pacific-details-percent-payroll-cut-focus/article_9d9706b6-07ba-11e6-9e24-bf46b4ad16aa.html