Americas News
Kirby's Earnings Up in Q2
U.S. barge operator Kirby Corp. [NYSE:KEX] (Kirby) said its net earnings rose to $63.1 million for the second quarter of 2013 from $47.6 million in the same period last year, while consolidated revenues rose to $563.9 million from $511.8 million.
"Our second quarter results benefited from continued strong demand and favorable pricing in our inland and coastal marine transportation markets," said Chairman and CEO Joe Pyne.
"We were also able to manage through the high water and lock closure issues with only an estimated $.03 per share negative impact."
Kirby said it paid less for its fuel in the second quarter than it did a year earlier, $3.22 per gallon of fuel consumed, compared with $3.35 in Q2 2012.
Increased demand for crude oil and gas condensate transportation, along with the addition of new customers, allowed the company to utilize around 90 percent of its fleet in the coastal marine transportation markets, compared with 75 percent a year earlier.
The inland marine transportation markets "remained strong with fleet utilization in the 90% to 95% range and continued favorable pricing trends," the company said.
Last year, Kirby acquired two other barge and tugboat operators, Penn Maritime Inc. and Allied Transportation Company.
