KiwiRail posts $85.5M 'above-rail' FY earnings, despite falling freight

KiwiRail posts $85.5M 'above-rail' FY earnings, despite falling freight
Pattrick Smellie
By Pattrick Smellie Aug. 26 (BusinessDesk) - KiwiRail, the state-owned rail and freight operator, posted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and finance costs of $85.5 million in the year to June 30, down $5 million on the previous year despite a 300,000 tonne reduction in Solid Energy coal freight and lower milk volumes because of a shorter-than-normal season. Revenue for the year fell 3.7 percent to $694 million, while operating expenses improved by 1.9 percent, falling to $618.9 million as the business reorients to being as eff...