Rail supplier updates from Alstom, Wabtec, Greenbrier and Harsco (Nov. 2)

Alstom closed on a $13.7 billion sale of its energy activities to General Electric. An estimated $3.5 billion to $4 billion of the proceeds are slated to return to shareholders. The company is now entirely refocused on rail transport, Alstom officials said in a press release. Meanwhile, Alstom announced that it has signed a $508 million contract with Italian high-speed rail operator NTV for the purchase of eight Pendolino high-speed trains. The contract also calls for Alstom to provide 20 years of maintenance on the units, which will expand NTV's existing fleet. The first trains are scheduled to be delivered in 2017.

Wabtec Corp.'s revenue in the third quarter increased 2 percent to $810 million, compared with $797 million in third-quarter 2014. Company officials attributed the increase to growth in its freight group. Wabtec's earnings per diluted share in the most recent quarter were $1.02, marking a 10 percent year-over-year increase. The company reported net income of $99.2 million during this year's third quarter, compared with $90.2 million last year.

The Greenbrier Companies Inc. late last week reported net earnings of $66.9 million, or $2.02 per diluted share, for the fourth quarter of fiscal-year 2015, which ended Aug. 31. The company also logged record revenue of $765.5 million during the quarter. As of Aug. 31, the company had a new rail-car backlog of 41,300 units with an estimated value of $4.71 billion. Diversified orders for 2,900 new rail cars valued at $470 million were received during the quarter.

Andre Schoen was named Harsco Rail's vice president for the international regions. Most recently the managing director for Xerox-ACS Business Service in Switzerland, Schoen has more than 25 years of experience in business management. He also  worked for Siemens Rail Automation as business unit director for 10 years in the United Kingdom and Germany.