QR National (ASX:QRN) has beaten market expectations to post a maiden first-half net profit of $278 million, but cautioned it’s second half result will suffer a hit from the Queensland floods.
Australia's largest coal freight company, that listed in November last year has cut its full year guidance by 11 per cent as a result of flooding that has caused track damage and delays to its operations.
QR National now expects underlying earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) of between $380 million to $410 million in the full 2011 financial year. The forecast range compares with earlier guidance of $427 million.
While for the first half of its current financial year, QR National has booked a 31 per cent lift in underlying EBIT, coming in at $226 million.
Earlier this month QR National said it was gearing up to cut up to a third of its workforce under a voluntary redundancy scheme in an effort to cut costs.
