Amtrak Key Financial Results FY10 to FY14

[Anonymous]

Amtrak’s financials have been moving in the right direction over the last five years, which is the minimum period to identify sustainable trends.  

Revenues increased from $2.5 billion in FY10 to $3.2 billion in FY14 or 28.7 per cent.  Other revenues, which presumably include state operating subsidies, increased by 51.4 per cent, and state capital payments increased 110.4 per cent.  They averaged $41.5 million for FY10, FY11, and FY14.  In FY13 they jumped to more than $475 million.

Expenses increased from $3.7 billion in FY10 to $4.2 billion in FY14 or 13.8 per cent. 

Compensation takes a high percentage of Amtrak’s expenses (49.5 per cent) and revenues (64.8 per cent). The compensation/expenses ratio has remained constant from FY10 to FY14, but it is down from 71.3 per cent of revenues in FY10.

Fuel, power, and utilities increased 20.8 per cent from FY10 to FY14, but they were off-set in part by a decrease in train operation expenses of 13.1 per cent.  

Depreciation increased from $593.1 million in FY10 to $699.3 million in FY14 or 17.9 per cent.  Amtrak does not assign these expense items by service line and routes.  Therefore, without access to Amtrak’s books, it is not possible to know how they should be or were assigned internally.

Placing in service new NEC locomotives, as well as new low level long distance cars, will push the depreciation higher in the out years.

In FY14 the loss from continuing operations slipped below $1 billion for the first time since I have been tracking Amtrak’s financial performance.  In FY14 it was $999.2 million.  After adjustment for other income and expenses, the total operations loss in FY14 was $1,023 million compared to $1,309 million in FY10.  This is a decrease of 21.8 per cent.  Restated in constant dollars, the total loss decreased by 14.9 per cent.

The average ticket revenue per passenger increased from $68.74 in FY10 to $81.25 in FY14 or 18.2 per cent.  The average cost per passenger increased 5.6 per cent.  The average loss per system passenger declined 8.5 per cent, compared to a decline of 25.6 per cent per passenger mile and 24.1 per cent per seat mile.

The NEC operating profit increased from $51.5 million in FY10 to $482.2 million in FY14 or 836.3 per cent. 

The operating losses for the State Supported and Other Short Distance Corridor trains declined from $231.2 million in FY10 to $85.7 million in FY14 or 62.9 per cent.

The operating losses associated with the long distance trains decreased from $575.5 million in FY10 to $529.6 in FY14 or 7.99 per cent.  

These results are before depreciation, interest, and miscellaneous items or adjustments.

At the end of FY10 Amtrak had 20,026 employees, of whom 85.9 per cent were engaged in operations.  At the end of FY14 the company had 20,321 employees, of whom 84.1 per cent were engaged in operations.  Between FY10 and FY14 the number of employees engaged in operations declined by 6/10s of one per cent whilst the number of non-operating employees increased by 13.8 per cent.  Total headcount increased by 1.5 per cent between FY10 and FY14.

Without access to Amtrak’s books, management, employees, etc. it is impossible to know what has driven these results.  They probably are the function of an improving economy coupled with some effective management decisions.

[Dragoman]

The numbers are interesting, and seem at first blush to be moving in the right direction. One thing that jumps out at me: over 3000 employees NOT involved in operations?? 3000??? Many years ago I worked for a division of Schlumberger, which had many tens of thousands of people in dozens of countries, and headquarters administrative staff that numbered in the few hundred at most.

[Anonymous]

Dragoman

The numbers are interesting, and seem at first blush to be moving in the right direction. One thing that jumps out at me: over 3000 employees NOT involved in operations?? 3000??? Many years ago I worked for a division of Schlumberger, which had many tens of thousands of people in dozens of countries, and headquarters administrative staff that numbered in the few hundred at most. 

It is in part the sign of the times.  Most organizations today have more support personal than was the case when I began my business career in 1964.  Then for example we only consulted an attorney on very rare occasions.  By the time I retired in 2006 it seemed like we had to check with the company lawyer before going to the toilet.

Amtrak has a substantial number of employees who appear to closely support operations.  For example, at the end of FY14, 1,159 employees were in marketing and sales. I presume that a significant number of them work in reservations. Procurement had 469 employees; Police and Security had 486 employees; and General Counsel had 156 legal beagles or near legal beagles. 

So as not to overburden the post with numbers, I showed the total head counts for Amtrak.  It shows the head counts for core, non-core, and capital employees.  Nevertheless, the ratio of operating employees to total employees is nearly the same for the core category as the totals, i.e. 81.8 per cent vs. 84.1 per cent in FY14.    

A competitive business like the ones that you and I worked for have to pay close attention to their staffing levels and compensation costs.  If they don't they would lose out to a competitor who does so. But a monopoly - Amtrak is at least a near monopoly - does not have the the same pressures to control costs.  

[oltmannd]

Dragoman

One thing that jumps out at me: over 3000 employees NOT involved in operations??

That is probably too high - maybe by half.  For comparison's sake, the major frt RRs have more than 3000, each.