(The Canadian Press circulated the following story on January 28.)
MONTREAL — Canadian National Railway Co. increased its fourth-quarter profit to $224 million as it dramatically cut costs in the face of higher taxes in Ontario and a strong Canadian dollar.
Canada’s largest railway said Wednesday it earned $1.17 per share – including a $79 million charge as a result of Ontario’s rollback of corporate tax cuts – in the three months ended Dec. 31.
That compared with a profit of $22 million or 11 cents per share in the year-earlier period, which included a one-time charge of $173 million to cover U.S. injury and other claims.
“We delivered strong fourth-quarter results in the face of the continuing challenges of the strong Canadian dollar and high fuel costs,” stated Hunter Harrison, president and chief executive officer of CN (TSX:CNR).
Operating expenses for the quarter fell to $1 billion, down from $1.46 billion a year earlier, and CN said its operating ratio – operating costs as a proportion of sales – was its best ever at 66.1 per cent.
CN said the stronger Canadian dollar shaved $145 million off revenues in the quarter, which slipped to $1.51 billion from $1.55 billion.
With the improved bottom line, CN said a three-for-two stock split will take effect next month and said it will start paying a quarterly dividend of 19.5 cents per share in March, equivalent to 29.25 cents on a pre-split basis. The current dividend is 25 cents per share.
For the full year, CN earned $1.01 billion or $5.23 per share. That compared with $800 million or $3.97 per share in 2002, despite a decline in revenue to $5.88 billion from $6.11 billion.