An increased grain handle contributed to an improved bottom line for Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) in 2007, the railway reported Tuesday.
CPR in 2007 posted net income of $946.2 million on $4.71 billion in total revenue, up from $796.3 million on $4.43 billion in 2006. The railway also posted a healthier fourth quarter (Q4) ending Dec. 31, with net of $342.3 million on $1.188 billion in revenues, up from $145.6 million on $1.19 billion in 2006.
The company reported earnings growth despite “a year that brought us many challenges,” CEO Fred Green said Tuesday in a release.
“Most recently, in December, our operations were hit hard by harsh weather that affected the entire supply chain, including high winds that shut down port and terminal operators for several extended periods. This restricted our ability to move the freight volumes we’d planned.”
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Other challenges included the stronger Canadian dollar, which in CPR’s 2007 Q4 cut what otherwise would have been a five per cent increase in freight revenue, compared to the same period in 2006, down to a decrease of one per cent compared to the year-earlier Q4.
Grain and fertilizer
The company posted grain freight revenue of $938.9 million in 2007, up 3.8 per cent from $904.6 million in 2006. Its grain handle was up 0.6 per cent at 385,000 carloads. Revenue per grain carload rose 3.2 per cent to $2,439.
CPR’s sulphur and fertilizer revenue also rose in 2007, by 14.3 per cent to $502 million. But its sulphur and fertilizer handle rose 17.7 per cent to 209,800 carloads, for revenue per carload of $2,393, down 2.9 per cent from 2006.
Grain freight revenue in CPR’s Q4, meanwhile, was down 1.6 per cent at $257.5 million compared to the year-earlier period. Q4 sulphur and fertilizer revenue dropped just 0.7 per cent to $121.2 million.
Grain handle was down 1.3 per cent for the quarter at 103,600 cars, while the sulphur and fertilizer handle, at 50,700 cars, was up 4.1 per cent from the year-earlier period.
