Genesee & Wyoming 4Q net income up 67 pct.

GREENWICH, Conn. (AP) — Genesee & Wyoming Inc.'s fourth-quarter profit surged 67 percent, as acquisitions helped lift the number of carloads the regional freight railroad operator handled.

The company reported Wednesday that its net income rose to $33.3 million, or 77 cents per share, for the three months ended Dec. 31, up from $19.9 million, or 47 cents per share, a year ago.

This beat the 72 cents per share consensus of analysts polled by FactSet.

Revenue increased 24 percent to $210.4 million from $169.7 million, benefiting from acquisitions. Wall Street expected $210 million in revenue.

Traffic rose to 246,794 carloads from 224,970 carloads, which mostly came from acquisitions.

President and CEO Jack Hellmann said in a statement that the company's operating results were below expectations in North America and Australia.

Hellmann said North American results were hurt by an extended outage of a transmission line to a major power plant, a lag in diesel fuel cost recovery and higher transportation expense.

Australian operations were hindered by an increased operating expense and a derailment caused by damage to a bridge over the Edith River due to Hurricane Grant in December.

Full-year earnings rose 47 percent to $119.5 million, or $2.79 per share, from $81.3 million, or $1.94 per share, in the previous year. Revenue for the year climbed 32 percent to $829.1 million from $630.2 million.

Genesee & Wyoming is based in Greenwich, Conn. It operates 65 railroads and provides railcar switching services in the United States, Australia, Canada, the Netherlands and Belgium.