Robert M. Knight
Analyst · JPMorgan
Thanks, Lance, and good morning. Let's start by summarizing our second quarter results. Operating revenue grew 7% to an all-time quarterly record of $5.2 billion, driven by core pricing gains and improved fuel surcharge recovery. Operating expense totaled $3.5 billion, increasing only 1%. Lower fuel prices this quarter helped offset other cost increases after 9 consecutive quarters of higher year-over-year fuel prices. Operating income totaled $1.7 billion, a 24% increase and a best-ever quarterly performance. Other income totaled $21 million, down $5 million compared to 2011. Interest expense of $135 million was also lower, down 9% versus last year. Income tax expense increased to $608 million, mostly driven by higher pretax earnings. Quarterly net income exceeded the $1-billion mark for the first time in our history. It was up 28% versus 2011. The outstanding share balance declined 3%, reflecting our share repurchase activity. These results drove a quarterly earnings record of $2.10 per share, a 32% increase versus last year. Turning now to our top line. Freight revenue grew 7% to a best-ever quarterly record of $4.9 billion. Volume growth was up about a 0.5 points. The mix impact was flat this quarter, unlike the first quarter, where it was a large positive driver on a year-over-year basis. Growth in Intermodal traffic and shorter length-of-haul moves such as stone, offset the growth impact of higher average revenue per car moves, such to shale-related activities. Fuel surcharge revenue added 2% to our top line growth, driven in part from the positive lag impact of our fuel surcharge programs. The continued benefit from our recently negotiated legacy contracts generated a meaningful step-up in fuel surcharge coverage, contributing over 1% in freight revenue growth and roughly $0.05 in earnings per share compared to 2011. In addition, we achieved solid core pricing gains of 4.5%. However, pricing gains this quarter were impacted by the 17% decline in coal volumes. The combination of solid core pricing and fuel surcharge coverage gains reflect the value of Union Pacific's service offerings and contributed to the record profitability this quarter. Moving on to the expenses. Slide 23 provides a summary of our compensation and benefits expense, which was down 1% compared to 2011. Consistent with our recent guidance, more moderate inflation drove only a 1.5% increase in costs. Positives in the quarter include mild weather conditions versus last year's Midwest floods; lower new hire training costs; and generally, more efficient operations. As you know, wages for our union employees will increase effective July 1, which will drive inflation costs higher in the second half of the year to roughly 2.5%. Workforce levels increased 2% in the quarter compared to 2011, driven entirely by increased capital activity, including positive train control. Excluding growth on the capital side, we still expect workforce levels to increase for the full year, but not at a one-for-one rate with volume growth. Slide 24 shows fuel expense, which totaled $882 million, decreasing $22 million versus last year. The average diesel fuel price was $3.21 per gallon, which declined 2% year-over-year. The mix shift of lower coal volumes and growth in manifest and premium traffic drove a 2% increase in our fuel consumption rate, partially offsetting the impact of lower fuel prices. Purchased services and material expense increased 5% to $542 million, driven in part by higher subsidiary contract expenses relating to the 17% growth in subsidiary revenue reflected on our Other Revenue line. Engineering, locomotive and freight car repair expense also increased this quarter, driven by increased material usage and inflation costs. Overall, our year-over-year comparison was a bit easier due to the $10 million in flood-related expenses that we incurred last year in this expense line. Other expenses came in at $190 million, down $6 million compared to 2011, driven by lower personal injury expense. Our recent actuarial study resulted in a larger reduction to our estimate for prior year activity, compared to last year. Conversely, equipment and freight damage costs increased roughly $15 million, while property tax expense was also up compared to last year. For the third and fourth quarters, we expect the other expense line to be more in the range of what we saw in the first quarter of this year, barring any unusual items. Slide 26 summarizes the remaining 2 expense categories. Depreciation expense increased 8% to $433 million, mainly driven by increased capital spending. Looking at the full year 2012, we expect depreciation expense to be up around 8% to 9% compared to 2011. Equipment and other rents expense totaled $299 million, up 6% from 2011. Growth in Automotive and Intermodal volumes drove an increase in short-term freight car rental expense, which was partially offset by lower locomotive lease expense. Bringing revenue and expenses together, Slide 27 reflects our operating ratio performance. This quarter, we achieved an all-time quarterly best of 67 operating ratio, improving 4.3 points compared to last year, and more than 1 point better than our previous record set in the third quarter of 2010. Lower fuel prices contributed to about 1 point of the improvement versus 2011. For 2012, we've tightened our guidance a bit and we are now targeting a sub-70 full year operating ratio, which would be a first-ever in our history. Our incremental margin, after adjusting for fuel price and last year's flood impact, was a notable 78% for the quarter, highlighting the positive impact of core pricing gains, improved fuel surcharge coverage, operational efficiencies and growth in attractive new businesses. That said, it's also likely to be the high mark for the year. Union Pacific's record earnings drove solid free cash flow in the first half of the year, but below 2011 due to a 37% increase in capital spending and a 54% increase in our cash dividend payments. While cash from operations improved year-over-year, earnings growth was masked by more than $600 million in higher cash tax payments. Much of that was driven by the 100% bonus depreciation program in effect last year, which significantly reduced our tax payments in 2011. Although the impact of bonus depreciation will still be a net benefit to free cash flow this year, it will result in a headwind compared to 2011, due to the catch-up of prior year's programs and a lower bonus depreciation rate in 2012. Our balance sheet remains strong, supporting our investment-grade credit rating. At June 30, 2012, our adjusted debt-to-cap ratio was 40.6%. We continue to make opportunistic share repurchases, which play an important role in our balanced approach to cash allocation. Union Pacific's increasing returns over the last several years have enabled us to drive greater shareholder value. In the second quarter, we bought back 3.8 million shares totaling $415 million at an average purchase price of around $110 per share. Combining dividend payments and share repurchases, we returned over $1.4 billion to our shareholders in the first half of 2012, up more than 40% versus last year. Looking ahead, we have 20.2 million shares remaining under our current authorization, which expires March 31, 2014. That's a recap of our second quarter results. Looking forward, our quarterly financial comps become more challenging, but we still expect to achieve record earnings and a sub-70 operating ratio in 2012. In addition, we're still forecasting volumes to be on the positive side of the ledger for the full year. Continued growth in domestic Intermodal, energy-related shale moves of crude oil, frac sand and pipe, in addition to strong Automotive and Chemical shipments, should offset the Coal decline. We're committed to achieving real pricing gains, driven by the increased value of our service offerings and solid demand in many market sectors. Our prospects for 2012, supported by Union Pacific's strong value proposition and the strength of our diverse franchise, should result in greater profitability and allow us to grow shareholder returns. With that, I'll turn it back over to Jack.