CN: First quarter profit up 36%

CN: First quarter profit up 36%

Harrison

      Canadian National Railroad said it had first quarter profit of C
$424 million ($350 million), 36 percent more than the CAN$311 million it made the same 2008 period.
      Revenue was C$1.86 billion ($1.53 billion), down 4 percent from C
$1.93 billion from the same 2008 period. The company said “a tough economic environment caused carloadings to fall by 16 percent.”
      “Economic conditions during the first quarter of 2009 were challenging,' said E. Hunter Harrison, president and chief executive officer. 'Our traffic declined sharply as production cuts and reduced imports and exports coursed through the North American and global economies.”
      He said, the weakening of the Canadian dollar versus the U.S.   
dollar was a “shock absorber.” The company said strengthening of the U.S. dollar affected the conversion of the company’s U.S. dollar- denominated revenue and expenses, increasing first-quarter 2009 net income by about C$30 million.
      Harrison noted the company had completed the acquisition of the Elgin, Joliet and Eastern railroad, and said the “route-around- Chicago represented by the EJ&E, and the upgrades we plan for the line in the next three years, will pay dividends to CN in the years ahead through faster transit times, improved productivity and better service to customers.”