(Reuters circulated the following story by Euan Rocha on July 30, 2009.)
TORONTO — Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd (CP.TO) said on Thursday its second-quarter net income rose slightly as a decline in freight volumes was offset by a gain on the sale of a portion of its interest in the Detroit River Tunnel Partnership.
CP, Canada’s second biggest railroad, posted a net profit of C$157.3 million ($145 million), or 93 Canadian cents a share, for the three months to end-June. That compared with net profit of C$154.7 million, or C$1 a share, in the same period a year ago, when the company had fewer shares outstanding.
Excluding items, the company earned 59 Canadian cents a share, compared with 97 Canadian cents a share a year earlier.
“The recession continues to have a significant impact on our business and although freight volumes appear to have stabilized, we have not yet seen a sustained recovery in traffic,” Chief Executive Fred Green said in a statement.
The company, which operates both in Canada and the northern United States, said revenue fell 21 percent to C$1 billion.
CP now expects its 2009 capital program to be in the range of C$800 million to C$820 million, an increase from the previous outlook of C$720 million to C$740 million.
CP shares, which have risen 16.4 percent in the last six months, closed Wednesday at C$43.31 on the Toronto Stock Exchange. ($1= $1.08 Canadian)