Canadian National (CN), the largest of the two Canada-based Class I railways, reported a net income of C$1.3 billion (U.S. $995.8 million) for the second quarter of 2018, up 27.1 percent year-over-year.
Although CN benefited from higher volumes compared to last year’s second quarter, the railway did encounter headwinds from the negative translation impact of a stronger Canadian dollar.
Revenues clocked in at C$3.6 billion, up 9.1 percent from the second quarter of 2017 amid a 6 percent boost in carloadings.
CN closed out the quarter with 25,654 employees, up 11.1 percent year-over-year.
For the full year, CN expects to spend C$3.5 billion in capital expenditures.
CN’s board of directors on Tuesday approved a third-quarter 2018 dividend on the company’s common shares outstanding. A quarterly dividend of C$0.455 cents per common share will be paid on Sept. 28 to shareholders of record at the close of business on Sept. 7.
Despite CN’s strong second quarter, fellow Canada-based Class I railway Canadian Pacific saw net income for the quarter drop 9.2 percent year-over-year amid service disruption from labor negotiations to C$436 million. Meanwhile, Union Pacific posted a net income of $1.51 billion, up 29.2 percent year-over-year, CSX recorded net earnings of $877 million, up 72 percent, and Kansas City Southern had a net income of $148.7 million, up 10.4 percent.