CP net income falls despite record Q3 revenues

Net earnings at Canadian Pacific Railway Limited dropped 19 percent year-over-year to $246.35 million thanks primarily to currency exchange losses on long-term debt, according to the company’s most recent financial statements.    Net income at Canadian Pacific Railway Limited in the third quarter of 2015 fell 19.3 percent to $323 million Canadian (U.S. $246.35 million) compared to the third quarter of 2014 thanks primarily to currency exchange losses on long-term debt.
   The railway posted revenues of C$1.71 billion (U.S. $1.3 billion), a third quarter record and up 2 percent from the previous year, according to the company’s most recent financial statements.
   Operating income increased an impressive 21.6 percent to C$753 million for the quarter, but net earnings were negatively affected by a C$128 million loss on foreign currency exchange related to the company’s outstanding debt that wasn’t there in Q3 2014.
   Diluted earnings per share was down 11.7 percent, from C$2.31 per share to C$2.04 per share, in the third quarter.
   Through the first nine months of the year, however, CP has still shown a slight increase – just over .75 percent – in net income to C$1.03 billion compared to the first nine months of 2014. Revenues at CP have grown 3.4 percent to C$5.03 billion and diluted EPS has increased from C$5.84 per share to $6.32 per share in the same time period.
   “I am proud of the CP team’s execution this quarter amid stubborn economic softness and the lowest commodity prices in more than a decade,” CP CEO E. Hunter Harrison said of the results. “It’s clear that despite the ongoing tough economic environment, our continued focus on service, cost control and incremental investment in the franchise will serve customers and shareholders well in the long run.” 
   “CP’s ability to generate bottom-line double-digit earnings growth in varied economic conditions demonstrates the resiliency and the power of our business model,” he added.