Canadian National reports record Q2 results for 2019

Canadian National

Canadian National Railway reported record second-quarter financial results for 2019.

“The CN team delivered record second-quarter results, and we remain optimistic on CN’s volume prospects in the second half of the year while maintaining our vigilance on costs,” said JJ Ruest, president and chief executive officer of CN. “Our focus on delivering profitable growth and advanced technologies to modernize our scheduled railroading model is expected to continue driving long-term value creation for our shareholders.”

Financial results highlights
Second-quarter 2019 compared to second-quarter 2018

• CN attained record second-quarter diluted EPS, as well as record quarterly revenues, operating income and adjusted diluted EPS.⁽¹⁾
• Revenues increased by nine percent to C$3,959 million.
• Diluted EPS increased by six percent to C$1.88 and adjusted diluted EPS increased by 15 percent to C$1.73. ⁽¹⁾
• Operating ratio of 57.5 percent, an improvement of 0.7 points.
• Operating income increased by 11 percent to C$1,682 million.

Reaffirmed 2019 financial outlook ⁽²⁾
CN still aims to deliver 2019 adjusted diluted EPS growth in the low double-digit range this year versus last year’s adjusted diluted EPS of C$5.50 ⁽¹⁾ and continues to assume mid-single-digit volume growth in 2019 in terms of revenue ton-miles (RTMs).

Second-quarter 2019 revenues, traffic volumes and expenses
Revenues for the second quarter of 2019 were C$3,959 million, an increase of C$328 million or nine percent when compared to the same period in 2018. The increase in revenues was mainly due to the inclusion of TransX in the intermodal commodity group, the positive translation impact of a weaker Canadian dollar, freight rate increases, and higher volumes primarily from petroleum crude and Canadian and U.S. grain, which were partly offset by lower volumes of frac sand, lumber, and potash.

RTMs, measuring the relative weight and distance of freight transported by CN, increased by two percent from the year-earlier period. Freight revenue per RTM increased by eight percent over the year-earlier period, mainly driven by the inclusion of TransX, the positive translation impact of a weaker Canadian dollar and freight rate increases.

Operating expenses for the second quarter increased by eight percent to C$2,277 million, mainly driven by the inclusion of TransX, the negative translation impact of a weaker Canadian dollar, and higher costs resulting from increased volumes of traffic.

From a Canadian National Railway press release

For more information, go to cn.ca.com

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