(Source: CN press release, April 29, 2019)
MONTREAL CN today reported its financial and operating results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2019.
“I’m pleased that the CN team continued to deliver very solid results during the first quarter of 2019,” said JJ Ruest, president and chief executive officer of CN. “Despite a prolonged period of historic cold temperatures in key segments of our network, CN railroaders delivered record first-quarter carload volumes, adding $350M of top-line growth, while improving year-over-year car velocity. We remain on track to deliver on our 2019 financial outlook (2) and on our ability to bring long-term value creation to our customers and shareholders.”
Financial results highlights (First-quarter 2019 compared to first-quarter 2018):
• Revenues increased by 11 per cent to C$3,544 million.
• Diluted earnings per share (EPS) increased by eight per cent to C$1.08 and adjusted diluted EPS increased by 17 per cent to C$1.17. (1)
• Operating ratio of 69.5 per cent, an increase of 1.7 points.
• Adjusted operating ratio of 67.2 per cent, an improvement of 0.6 points. (1)
• Operating income increased by five per cent to C$1,080 million.
Reaffirmed 2019 financial outlook (2)
CN still aims to deliver 2019 adjusted diluted EPS growth in the low double-digits range this year versus last year’s adjusted diluted EPS of C$5.50 (1) and continues to expect high single-digit volume growth in 2019 in terms of revenue ton miles (RTMs).
First-quarter 2019 revenues, traffic volumes and expenses
Revenues for the first quarter of 2019 were C$3,544 million, an increase of C$350 million or 11 per cent, when compared to the same period in 2018. The increase in revenues was mainly attributable to the positive translation impact of a weaker Canadian dollar, freight rate increases, higher volumes of petroleum crude, refined petroleum products, coal and Canadian grain, and higher applicable fuel surcharge rates, partly offset by lower volumes of frac sand. Carloadings for the quarter increased by one per cent to 1,418 thousand.
RTMs, measuring the relative weight and distance of rail freight transported by CN, increased by three per cent from the year-earlier period. Rail freight revenue per RTM increased by eight per cent over the year-earlier period, mainly driven by the positive translation impact of a weaker Canadian dollar, freight rate increases and higher applicable fuel surcharge rates, partly offset by an increase in the average length of haul.
Operating expenses for the first quarter increased by 14 per cent to C$2,464 million, mainly driven by an expense related to costs previously capitalized for a Positive Train Control back office system following the deployment of a replacement system, increased labor costs mainly as a result of an increase in headcount, higher costs due to more challenging winter conditions, and the negative translation impact of a weaker Canadian dollar.
Full story: www.cn.ca