More grain meant more money for CP Rail in the first quarter of fiscal year 2000.
The company last week reported net income of $85.1 million on revenues of $912.7 million for the three months that ended March 31.
That’s up 38.8 percent from the first quarter a year ago when CP posted a net income of $61.3 million on revenues of $833.6 million.
Operating income was a record $186.7 million, up from $140.6 million a year earlier.
The biggest improvement in the company’s books came on the grain side, where revenues rose by 28 percent to $179.5 million, up from $140.5 million.
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That reflects a sharp rebound in grain shipments from last year, when a small crop led to a scaled-back export program and lower rail volumes.
Bulk commodity shipments, including grain, coal, sulfur, fertilizer and forestry products, recorded a 13 percent revenue increase.
CP president Robert Ritchie said the company is moving more products and keeping its expenses under control.
“What’s particularly encouraging this quarter is that we have started to see a recovery in bulk commodity volumes, and with our costs in check, we were able to flow most of that growth directly to operating income,” he said in a news release.
Total operating expenses increased by $33 million to $726 million, but just about all of that was due to a substantial jump in fuel costs, which were up 58 percent to $103.1 million. All other expenses taken together were down by one percent, despite a 20 percent increase in volumes.
Ritchie said the railway is operating more efficiently than a year ago. Average train weights were up 13 percent and the indices used to measure efficient use of locomotives improved by 28 percent. The company had 1,000 fewer employees than a year earlier, which helped contribute to a $7 million decline in labor costs to $304.8 million.
