CN posts record third quarter net income

CN posts record third quarter net income    Increased freight rates and higher fuel surcharges helped Canadian National Railway Co. post a record third quarter net income of C$411 million ($349.3 million) up 18.7 percent from C$346 million in the same period last year.
   Operating income for the first three months was up 12.5 percent to C$665 million ($565.4 million) from C$591 million. Revenue increased 5.9 percent to C$1.8 billion ($1.5 billion) from C$1.7 billion.
   CN reported revenue increases for six of its seven commodity groups: grain and fertilizers up 17 percent to C$273 million ($232 million); coal, 13 percent to C$80 million ($68 million); intermodal traffic, 10 percent at C$331 million ($281 million); forest products, 7 percent to C$448 million ($381 million); metals and minerals, 3 percent to C$209 million ($178 million); automotive, 2 percent at C$114 million ($97 million). Petroleum and chemicals revenues declined 5 percent to C$267 million ($227 million).
   For the year-to-date, CN reported a net income of C$1.1 billion ($957 million), up 27.6 percent compared to C$882 million after the first nine months of 2004. CN posted an operating income of C$1.9 billion ($1.6 billion), an improvement of 21.9 percent from $75 million in the same period last year. Revenue improved 11.2 percent in the January-September period to C$5.3 billion ($4.5 billion) from $4.8 billion
   CN’s shares on the Toronto Stock Exchange fell 2.3 percent, to C$82 at close Tuesday.