(Bloomberg News circulated the following article by Vivek Shankar on March 1.)
CALGARY — Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd., the country’s second-largest railroad, raised its quarterly dividend 20 percent and said it would buy back as much as 3.5 percent of its shares.
The dividend was boosted to 22.5 Canadian cents (19 cents) a share from 18.75 cents, Calgary-based Canadian Pacific said today in a statement sent by PR Newswire. The company plans to repurchase as many as 5.5 million shares.
The announcement comes a month after Canadian Pacific said quarterly earnings rose for the 12th time in a row. Canadian railroads are benefiting from increased shipments of grains and other commodities.
Canadian Pacific had about C$124.3 million in cash on hand as of December 2005, according to Bloomberg data. A call to the office of spokeswoman Leslie Pidcock after normal business hours wasn’t immediately returned.
The shares rose 11 cents to C$62.56 in Toronto Stock Exchange composite trading today. The stock has climbed 5.4 percent in the past year.