CSX’s Second-Quarter Earnings Dip

Eastern freight rail line CSX Corp.’s second-quarter earnings fell almost 17% from a year earlier, the railroad said.

Net income fell to $324 million or 71 cents a share, from $390 million or 83 cents a year earlier. Revenue rose about 5% to a record $2.35 billion.

Last year’s second-quarter results were boosted by work from Hurricane Katrina cleanup, the company said.

The company said higher prices drove per-unit revenue gains even as sales volume fell 2% from a year ago.

CSX also said it repurchased $548 million of its stock in the quarter, as part of its $3 billion stock repurchase program, and said it boosted its quarterly dividend by 25%, 15 cents a share.