(Reuters) -Railroad operator Union Pacific missed Wall Street estimates for first-quarter profit and revenue on Thursday, hurt by weak automotive shipments and lower fuel surcharge, sending shares down 3.5% in premarket trading.
The Omaha, Nebraska-based company said its volumes were pressured by economic uncertainty and weaker coal demand.
Union Pacific has struggled with lower demand for coal shipments as customers turn to cheaper stockpiles of natural gas for energy.
Although, that trend is expected to change after U.S. President Donald Trump signed executive orders last month aiming to boost coal production.
The company also joined its East Coast peer, Norfolk Southern, in reaffirming its annual target.
Union Pacific said its operating ratio, a key profitabilty metric, came at 60.7%, flat compared with a year ago.
Quarterly revenue from its intermodal shipment, which involves transporting goods via two or more means of transportation, rose 10% to $1.19 billion.
On an adjusted basis, Union Pacific earned $2.70 per share in the first quarter, compared with the average analyst estimate of $2.75, according to data compiled by LSEG.
Revenue for the quarter ended March 31 marginally fell to $6.03 billion, compared with estimates of $6.08 billion.
(Reporting by Anshuman Tripathy in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli and Maju Samuel)
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