Union Pacific’s 4Q Profit Jumps 35%

Union Pacific Corp. said Thursday its fourth-quarter profit rose 35% to $661 million, or $1.31 per share, from $491 million, or 93 cents per share, last year.

The company attributed its rise in profits to falling fuel costs, improved productivity and increased shipping prices.

Revenue from intermodal freight fell 7% to $705 million.

For the full 2008 year, profit increased 26% from the year before to $2.3 billion, or $4.54 per share, the company said.

Union Pacific, the largest U.S. freight railroad by revenue, operates west of the Mississippi River.