Canadian National Railway Q3 profit up 21pc to US$553.6 million

CANADIAN National Railway (CN) net third quarter profit has increased 21 per cent to C$556 million (US$553.6 million), while operating profit grew 21 per cent to C$834 million, the state-run railway announced.

Quarterly revenue increased 15 per cent to C$2,122 million, while car loadings rose 18 per cent, and revenue ton-miles rose nine per cent.


Net profit for the first nine months was C$1,601 million up from C$1,272 million for the same period 2009. Adjusted net income for the first nine months was C$1,470 million compared to one of C$1,109 million in the same period 2009.


Good performance was attributed to a focus on supply chain collaboration, which helped to drive increased grain, coal and intermodal traffic.


"We are starting to see dividends from our new supply chain initiatives. Since the beginning of the year, we`ve innovated on a number of fronts, ranging from scheduled grain service in western Canada, to collaboration agreements with Canada`s major ports and level of service pacts with terminal operators, to a new end-to-end supply chain focus on western Canada export coal traffic," said president and CEO Claude Mongeau.


"There are some encouraging signs. During the first nine months of 2010, Canadian grain volumes approached a level not seen since the 1996/1997 Canadian bumper crop-year. Overseas intermodal traffic reached a record high for the nine-month 2010 period - up 25 per cent from 2009. And Canadian coal traffic increased by a full 75 per cent from the comparable nine-month period of 2009.


"Looking forward, CN is convinced that deeper customer engagement and supply chain innovation will deliver value to customers and help CN create value for its shareholders."