CP Rail profits from efficiency boost

Article Excerpt

CP continues to benefit from strong demand and higher prices for its crude-by-rail services and other shipping. Limited industry competition and the company’s focus on improving its efficiency also bode well for its future profits and CP’s share price. CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY $315.11 (Toronto symbol CP; shares outstanding: 147.7 million; Market cap: $43.5 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 1.1%; www.cpr.ca) ships freight over a 22,000-kilometre rail network between Montreal and Vancouver, with links to hubs in the U.S. Midwest and Northeast. Overall revenue in the quarter ended June 30, 2019, rose 13.0%, to $1.98 billion from $1.75 billion a year earlier. In addition to high volumes of crude oil, the company saw strong gains from shipping grain, potash and other fertilizers, automotive and forest products, and coal. Those increases offset declines in metals, minerals and consumer goods. CP’s earnings in the quarter ended June 30, 2019, jumped 32.9%, to $602 million from $453 million. Due to fewer shares outstanding, per-share earnings rose at…