CN 3Q earnings rise, beat Street

Canadian National late Tuesday reported earnings of C$621 million, or C$1.38 a diluted share, for the third quarter, up 12% from the comparable quarter in 2010 and beating Wall Street analyst expectations of C$1.32 a share. Sales of C$2.3 billion were up 9% from a year ago, CN said.

Addressing media during a conference call Tuesday, CN President and Chief Executive Officer Claude Mongeau cited “record revenue performance, a good balance between solid volume increase, good pricing, and overall, if you adjust for currency, our revenues are up 12% over last quarter. And that’s reflective of our ability throughout the quarter and since the beginning of the year to outpace the general rate of economic growth.”

Mongeau also noted, “We were able to turn in an operating ratio of 59.3% for the quarter. Our earnings on an adjusted basis are up 16%, and our year-to-date free cash flow is in excess of C$1.3 billion.”

CN officials said the company’s overseas intermodal was up 10%, which it said “outperformed the overall West Coast port average.” Domestic intermodal revenue rose 20%.