CP generates record revenue in 1Q

   Canadian Pacific took in CAN $1.509 billion ($1.369 billion) during the first quarter of the year, a 1-percent rise when compared to the same quarter in 2013. In a press release, the company said the first quarter of 2014 generated the best first-quarter results in company history.
   Operating expenses fell 4 percent, year over year, to $9.855 billion due primarily to a $47-million fall in employee compensation and benefits. Operating income rose by 17 percent to $423 million. Net income finished the quarter at $254 million, up from $217 million in the previous year’s first quarter.
   “CP delivered solid results in a period that was severely impacted by extraordinary cold and severe winter weather conditions,” the railroad’s chief executive officer, E. Hunter Harrison, said in a statement. “Despite a slow start to the year and the reduced capacity, which limited our ability to meet strong customer demand, we still have the utmost confidence in our ability to achieve our financial targets for 2014.”
   Industrial and consumer products showed the biggest revenue increase, rising 11 percent to $412 million. Grain revenues increased by 4 percent compared to the first quarter of 2013, ending the 2014 period at $327 million. Every other major commodity shipped by CP showed a decrease when compared to the first quarter of 2013, with fertilizer shipments reflecting the largest decline at 12 percent. Revenues from automotive and forest product shipments both declined by 9 percent.
   For all commodities, revenue ton miles fell when compared to the first quarter of 2013, but revenue per revenue ton miles, measured in cents, increased nearly across the board. For example, RTM for forest products fell by 25 percent, year over year, but revenue per RTM increased by 20 percent. Only fertilizers showed the same revenue per RTM, year over year; in the first quarter, RTM for fertilizers decreased by 12 percent.
   CP also showed across-the-board decreases for carloads, but freight revenue per carload for every commodity increased. Total carloads fell by 6 percent, year over year, but total freight revenue per carload rose by 8 percent.