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Last year, Canadian Pacific Railway posted a record $857 million in operating income and best-ever operating ratio of 76.6.


On Jan. 27, the Class I also reported annual net income of $496 million — a $124 million or 33 percent increase compared with 2001.


However, CPR's 2002 revenue of $3.6 billion dropped $33 million or 1 percent because lower grain and coal shipments weren't completely offset by strong intermodal, automotive, and sulfur and fertilizer traffic.


"CPR's diverse commodity mix is one of our underlying strengths, and our marketing and sales team used this strength to overcome the effect on our grain revenue of a prolonged drought," said CPR President and Chief Executive Officer Rob Ritchie in a prepared statement. "Our focus on the fundamentals — safety, service and productivity — is an effective, common-sense business approach that benefited shareholders in 2002 and will continue to pay off."


The railroad's annual operating expenses of $2.8 billion decreased $49 million or 2 percent compared with 2001.


In the fourth quarter, CPR posted operating income of $238 million, rising $23 million, and net income of $126 million, increasing $28 million compared with fourth-quarter 2001.


"CPR generated revenue growth of about 3 percent in 2002," said Ritchie. "We adjusted quickly to stay ahead of changing traffic patterns in the intermodal and automotive businesses, and capitalized on well-timed investments in track capacity and facilities to support our truck-competitive services."


Operating expenses of $712 million rose 3 percent, and the Class I's quarterly operating ratio of 75.0 increased 2.5 points compared with a record 72.5 ratio in fourth-quarter 2001.