(Source: Canadian Pacific Railway press release, April 18, 2018)
CALGARY — Canadian Pacific Railway Limited today announced first-quarter reported diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $2.41, or $2.70 on an adjusted diluted EPS basis.
“This was a challenging quarter, as we battled extreme weather and unprecedented demand, specifically in the northern reaches of our network,” said Keith Creel, CP’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “Despite these challenges, we delivered 6 percent more freight than last year, demonstrating once again the resiliency of our operating model and the commitment from our family of professional railroaders. With the extraordinary winter weather behind us, we built a tremendous amount of momentum through March — one of our best months in recent history — positioning us well for the rest of the year.”
FIRST-QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS
• Volumes as measured by revenue ton-miles increased 6 percent and carloads increased 4 percent.
• Revenue increased by 4 percent to $1.66 billion from $1.60 billion.
• Reported diluted EPS $2.41, an 18 percent decrease from $2.93, and adjusted diluted EPS was $2.70, an 8 percent increase from $2.50 last year.
• Operating ratio was 67.5 percent, an increase of 510 basis points and 190 basis points compared to last year’s operating ratio and adjusted operating ratio, respectively. Effective January 1, 2018, CP adopted a new accounting standard for the presentation of pension retirement benefits which resulted in a 430 basis point increase in CP’s 2017 operating ratio. (1)
“We continue to produce results using the foundations of precision railroading and remain confident in our ability to deliver sustainable, profitable growth in 2018 and beyond,” Creel said. “We look forward to showcasing our proven operating model, strong leadership team, and commitment to disciplined growth at our Investor Day on June 5 and 6 in Calgary.”
CP will discuss its results with the financial community in a conference call beginning at 4:30 p.m. eastern time on April 18, 2018.
(1) — 2017 comparative period was restated from 58.1% to 62.4% and adjusted operating ratio was restated from 61.3% to 65.6% to reflect the adoption of the new accounting standard for the presentation of net periodic benefit recoveries, which is discussed further in Note 2 Accounting changes in CP’s Interim Consolidated Financial Statements for the three months ended March 31, 2018.