Canadian Pacific posts record Q3

Canadian Pacific yesterday reported third-quarter net income of CA$622 million and revenue of CA$1.9 billion, up from net income of CA$510 million and revenue of CA$1.6 billion in the same period a year ago.

This year's third-quarter revenue marked the company's highest revenue ever for any quarter, according to a CP press release.

The Class I also reported third-quarter diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $4.35 — the highest in CP's history — compared with $3.50 EPS for the previous year's quarter.

Operating income in the quarter rose 27 percent to CA$790 million from CA$622 million in third-quarter 2017. The railroad's operating ratio of 58.3 percent for the quarter was a record low. In third-quarter 2017, CP posted an operating ratio of 61 percent.

"This quarter really showed what our operating model and our 13,000-strong family of CP railroaders can do," said President and Chief Executive Officer Keith Creel. "It was a record by almost every measure and sets us up well for the remainder of the year and beyond."

Creel attributed CP's Q3 performance to the strength of its team and its precision scheduled railroading model. As a result, the Class I is seeing continued and sustainable growth across its business lines, he said.

"We have the foundational underpinnings, and the room to grow, in the weeks, months and years ahead," said Creel.

By commodity, CP reported:
• Record potash volumes in Q3, with demand remaining strong;
• Canadian grain revenue will be strong for the remainder of the year;
• Coal was impacted by supply-chain outages in the quarter, but is expected to be strong in Q4;
• Sustained growth in energy and chemicals in Q3 were driven by refined products and crude; and
• Lumber and panel volumes were the strongest in a decade.

Also, CP logged double-digit growth in domestic and intermodal revenue in the quarter.

As a result of a record-setting Q3 and a "strong outlook" for the rest of the year, CP announced earlier this month that it was raising its 2018 full-year guidance. The company now expects adjusted diluted EPS for 2018 to grow more than 20 percent, up from earlier guidance of "low double-digit growth."