(Source: CN press release, January 27, 2015)
MONTREAL — CN today reported its financial and operating results for the fourth quarter and year ended Dec. 31, 2014.
Fourth-quarter and full-year 2014 financial highlights
• Fourth-quarter 2014 net income was C$844 million versus net income of C$635 million for the same period of 2013.
• Q4-2014 diluted earnings per share (EPS) increased 36 per cent to C$1.03 from diluted EPS of C$0.76 for the final quarter of 2013.
• Full-year 2014 net income was C$3,167 million, or C$3.85 per diluted share, compared with net income of C$2,612 million, or C$3.09 per diluted share, for 2013.
• Full-year 2014 adjusted diluted EPS increased 23 per cent to C$3.76, with adjusted 2014 net income of C$3,095 million versus adjusted net income of C$2,582 million in 2013. (1)
• Full-year 2014 volumes reached record levels, with carloadings up eight per cent and revenue ton-miles up 10 per cent.
• Q4-2014 operating income increased 30 per cent to C$1,260 million, and full-year 2014 operating income rose 19 per cent to C$4,624 million.
• The fourth-quarter 2014 operating ratio improved by 4.1 points to 60.7 per cent; the full-year 2014 operating ratio improved by 1.5 points to 61.9 per cent.
• 2014 free cash flow totalled C$2,220 million, compared with free cash flow of C$1,623 million for 2013. (1)
Claude Mongeau, president and chief executive officer, said: “CN delivered a strong fourth-quarter 2014 performance, concluding a remarkable year characterized by brutal first-quarter winter weather, followed by a strong rebound starting in March, and capped by record full-year freight volumes. We’re particularly proud of our solid operating performance that allowed us to move record volumes of Western Canadian grain and equally strong U.S. grain shipments.
“Our agenda of Operational and Service Excellence is clearly working. This momentum is helping us to grow CN’s business faster than the overall economy and to do so at low incremental cost. This will provide us with a strong foundation for 2015, a year in which we see continued opportunities for growth in energy-related commodities, intermodal traffic, and commodities tied to U.S. housing construction, automotive sales and other consumer spending.”
Positive 2015 outlook, increased dividend (2)
Mongeau said: “CN is optimistic about its future prospects. The Company is aiming to deliver double-digit EPS growth in 2015 over adjusted diluted 2014 EPS of C$3.76. In addition, CN plans to increase its capital spending by roughly C$300 million for a total 2015 investment of approximately C$2.6 billion.
“Given CN’s strong balance sheet and its solid outlook for earnings and free cash flow generation, I am pleased to announce that the Company’s Board of Directors has approved a 25 per cent increase in CN’s 2015 quarterly common-share dividend. CN has increased its dividend per share by 17 per cent per year on average since its privatization in 1995.”
Full-year 2014 revenues, traffic volumes and expenses
2014 revenues increased 15 per cent to C$12,134 million. Revenues increased for petroleum and chemicals (21 per cent), grain and fertilizers (21 per cent), metals and minerals (20 per cent), intermodal (13 per cent), automotive (12 per cent), forest products (seven per cent), and coal (four per cent).
The rise in total revenues was mainly attributable to higher freight volumes due to a record 2013/2014 Canadian grain crop, strong energy markets, particularly crude oil and frac sand, new intermodal and automotive business; the positive translation impact of the weaker Canadian dollar on U.S.-dollar-denominated revenues; and freight rate increases.
Carloadings for 2014 increased eight per cent over 2013 to 5,625 thousand.
Revenue ton-miles, measuring the relative weight and distance of rail freight transported by CN, increased by 10 per cent in 2014 over 2013. Rail freight revenue per revenue ton-mile, a measurement of yield defined as revenue earned on the movement of a ton of freight over one mile, increased by four per cent in 2014 over the previous year.
Operating expenses for 2014 increased by 12 per cent to C$7,510 million, mainly due to the negative translation impact of a weaker Canadian dollar on U.S.-dollar-denominated expenses, increased purchased services and material expense, higher fuel costs, as well as increased labor and fringe benefits expense.
The operating ratio was 61.9 per cent in 2014, an improvement of 1.5 points over the 2013 operating ratio of 63.4 per cent.
Foreign currency impact on results
Although CN reports its earnings in Canadian dollars, a large portion of its revenues and expenses is denominated in U.S. dollars. As such, the Company’s results are affected by exchange-rate fluctuations. On a constant currency basis that excludes the impact of fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates, CN’s net income for the fourth quarter and year ended Dec. 31, 2014, would have been lower by C$45 million, or C$0.06 per diluted share and C$121 million, or C$0.15 per diluted share, respectively. (1)