Cost cuts will spur CP’s recovery

Article Excerpt

An economic recovery will increase CP Rail’s shipments of forest products, coal, potash, grain, cars and auto parts. This, in turn, will lift its revenue and profits. Meanwhile, CP has aggressively cut its costs. This should further add to profits when shipments rebound. CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY LTD. $49.78 (Toronto symbol CP; Shares outstanding: 168.1 million; Market cap: $8.4 billion; SI Rating: Above Average) ships freight over a rail network between Montreal and Vancouver. In the United States, CP subsidiaries connect its Canadian lines to major hubs in the midwest and northeast. In the three months ended June 30, 2009, CP Rail’s revenue fell 16.2%, to $1.02 billion from $1.22 billion. Earnings rose 1.7%, to $157.3 million from $154.7 million. Earnings per share fell 7.0%, to $0.93 from $1.00, on more outstanding shares. If you exclude all unusual items, CP’s per-share earnings fell 39.2%, to $0.59 from $0.97. Despite the drop, this is a lot better than the $0.34 a share that analysts were…