Canadian National Railway Q1 Profit Up, But Withdraws Outlook

(RTTNews) - Canadian National Railway Co (CNR.TO) Monday reported first-quarter profit of C$1.01 billion or C$1.42 per share, up from C$786 million or C$1.08 per share last year.

On an adjusted basis, earnings for the quarter was C$870 million or C$1.22 per share. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters estimate earnings of $1.08 per share for the quarter.

The company's revenue for the quarter rose 0.6% to C$3.56 billion from C$3.54 billion last year. Analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $3.49 billion for the quarter.

CEO JJ Ruest said, "I am very proud of how we recovered quickly in March from the service disruptions in February. Our network is very fluid, and we are continuing the temporary right-sizing of our resources to match the weaker demand caused by the global recession. We are committed to providing long-term shareholder value by delivering on our strategic capacity investments for growth and by deploying technological innovations."

Canadian National Railway said it is withdrawing its 2020 financial guidance and 3-year targets. The company said the economic outlook, and therefore overall demand for transportation services, are highly correlated with the duration of containment measures and the impacts on businesses and consumers, which at this point remain uncertain.