A 5.5 per cent jump in grain revenue through increased traffic helped Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) improve its third-quarter net by 34 per cent, the company announced Monday.
CPR reported net income of $218.6 million on $1.19 billion in revenue for the quarter ending Sept. 30, up from $163.8 million on $1.15 billion in its year-earlier Q3.
The railway also saw increases of seven per cent in its coal and intermodal freight revenue, offset by a 20.9 per cent decrease in forest product revenue, and a four per cent drop from the sulphur and fertilizer sector.
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CPR posted Q3 grain revenues of $237.8 million, up from $225.3 million in the year-earlier period. The railway moved 100,900 carloads of grain in the quarter, up five per cent from 96,200 in its 2006 Q3, for revenue per carload of $2,357, up 0.6 per cent.
“We delivered these results in the face of a strengthening Canadian dollar and increasing fuel costs,” said CPR CEO Fred Green in a release. The company posted a 15 per cent increase in fuel expenses, due primarily to increased refining margins, it said.
Equipment rental costs also rose 12 per cent, due in part to the added locomotives needed to move more freight, the company reported. Overall, it hauled 687,400 carloads of freight in its Q3, up 6.2 per cent.
