CN Operating Income, Revenue up in 2nd Quarter

Canadian National this week reported that is operating income and revenue both grew during the second quarter of 2019.

Operating income increased by 11 percent to $1.7 billion while revenue grew 9 percent to $3.95 billion.

Earnings per share, adjusted for the impact of one-time items, increased 15 percent to $1.73.

The revenue, operating income, and earnings per share figures were all records.

The operating ratio was 57.5 percent for the quarter, an improvement of 0.7 points.

Traffic volume was up 2 percent with only forest products showing a decline of 8 percent due to mill closures and production reductions in British Columbia.

All other segments were up including 12 percent growth in petroleum and chemicals traffic, a 5 percent increase in coal volume, and a 4 rise in automotive shipments.

Intermodal revenue increased by 15 percent due to CN’s acquisition of TransX, a Canadian trucking company.

“Looking to the balance of this year and next, we are cautiously optimistic,” CEO Jean-Jacques Ruest said during an earnings call. “We have a diverse pipeline of organic growth and line of sight on some market wins ahead of us.”

CN will seek to cut its management ranks by 5 percent by the end of the year. The non-union workforce has fallen by 13 percent since October.

Tags: Canadian National, CN financial outlook, CN financial results