CP grain handle, revenue up in Q3

Grain, along with nearly all of of Canadian Pacific Railway’s (CP) business segments besides coal, saw increased traffic on the company’s lines in its third quarter.

Calgary-based CP on Wednesday posted overall profit of $197.3 million on $1.29 billion in revenues during its Q3 ending Sept. 30, down from a $209.3 million net on $1.12 billion in revenues in the year-earlier period.

Of CP’s Q3 gross, grain traffic was responsible for $300.2 million, up from $281.2 million in the year-earlier period. Revenue from handling sulphur and fertilizers was up 35.3 per cent at $110.1 million.

Of the 685,700 carloads of commodities handled in Q3, grain accounted for 119,900, up from 117,600, while sulphur and fertilizers filled 41,800 cars, up from 29,700 un the year-earlier Q3.

In terms of Q3 revenue per carload, CP’s grain handle works out to $2,504 per carload, up 4.7 per cent from $2,391. Revenue per carload from sulphur and fertilizers was down 3.9 per cent at $2,634. CP’s overall freight revenue per carload was $1,824.

The railway “delivered another strong quarter of financial performance on double-digit revenue growth and an improved operating ratio,” CEO Fred Green said in the company’s release Wednesday.

Among other line items boosting the company’s Q3 results, CP reported proceeds of $80 million from the sale of Windsor Station, its former head office in Montreal, where it will now lease office space on a 10-year term.

CP also sold some of its land in Western Canada for transit purposes, for proceeds of $43 million.