GATX posts strong railcar results
Written by Douglas John BowenGATX Corp. Thursday reported higher railcar lease prices and continued high utilization as it released results for fourth-quarter 2011 and the full calendar year.
“The North American rail market recovered more quickly than we anticipated in 2011,” Brian A. Kenney, president and chief executive officer of GATX, said. “Due to broad-based improvement in the demand for railcars, we successfully raised lease rates while maintaining high utilization throughout the year. The Lease Price Index for the fourth quarter was a positive 13.2% and utilization was strong, ending the year at 98.2% Looking to the year ahead, we expect continued improvement in Rail’s operating results in North America and Europe.
He said GATX invested $615 million in 2011 “primarily to expand our North American and European rail platforms.”
GATX reported 2011 fourth-quarter net income of $31.6 million or $.67 per diluted share, compared with net income of $19.5 million or 42 cents per diluted share in the fourth quarter of 2010. Net income for the full-year 2011 was $110.8 million or $2.35 per diluted share, compared with net income of $80.8 million or $1.72 per diluted share in the prior year. The 2011 and 2010 results include the positive aggregate impact from Tax Benefits and Other Items of $15.8 million or 34 cents per diluted share and $6.2 million or 13 cents per diluted share, respectively.
