NSC - Norfolk Southern corrects Ancora's false and misleading statements | Benzinga
Urges shareholders to vote "FOR" ONLY Norfolk Southern's 13 highly qualified nominees on the WHITE proxy card today
ATLANTA, April 19, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) filed a presentation on Friday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission addressing the flawed assumptions of Ancora Alternatives LLC's ("Ancora") highly unrealistic near-term financial targets.
Among many other claims, Ancora grossly overestimates the 12-month savings across numerous categories and their "estimated savings" are simply not supported by the mathematical reality. Ancora has unrealistically projected expected savings of $800 million over 12 months, resulting in a 62 – 63% operating ratio, while claiming they would not furlough employees.
In Norfolk Southern's presentation, informed by actual railroading experience and direct industry expertise, the company has outlined what the real savings would be in each cost opportunity Ancora cited. Ancora's misinformed savings estimates would only amount to $400 million, and to achieve the remaining $400 million savings in their plan, approximately 2,900 employee furloughs would be required, despite Ancora's assertions to the contrary.
The presentation also corrects the false and misleading statements made by Ancora including:
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FALSE & MISLEADING |
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THE FACTS |
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THE OUTCOMES |
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Disregarding Norfolk Southern's successful implementation of a modern version of precision scheduled railroading. |
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Norfolk Southern is advancing a modern PSR strategy, which is designed to avoid periodic service problems.
The company is accelerating the execution of the plan through changes in leadership and operations. |
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Dismissing the four decades of success and experience of recently hired COO, John Orr. |
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John Orr is an expert and award-winning thought leader in PSR with a proven track record of improving operations at multiple Class I railroads in regions spanning Canada, the U.S., and Mexico.
Hiring John resulted in an inconsequential change to a commercial agreement with CPKC.
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Ignoring significant safety improvements that are driving results. |
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In the wake of East Palestine (EP), Norfolk Southern took decisive action to protect the franchise and shareholders.
Management, with board oversight, implemented a six-point safety plan and accelerated enhancements to its safety culture and operational transformation.
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Overlooking Norfolk Southern's efficient operations before, and improvements after, the EP incident. |
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Widening of the operating ratio occurred in 2023, as Norfolk Southern dealt with service disruptions and safety investments following the EP incident.
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