MONTREAL — Canadian National Railway Co. saw earnings slide 18 per cent for the three months ending Sept. 30, as record-setting grain shipments failed to offset the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on freight trains.
CN rail reported third quarter net income of $985 million, down from $1.2 billion in the same period in 2019.
The earnings amounted to $1.38 per share on a diluted basis, down from $1.66 per share in the same period last year.
Sales fell 11 per cent to $3.41 billion, down from $3.83 billion in the year-ago period.
Analysts polled by Refinitv expected earnings per share of $1.46 on sales of $3.5 billion.
The company said revenue from petroleum and chemicals dropped to $591 million, down from $788 million in 2019’s third-quarter, even as grain and fertilizer sales reached $608 million, up from $552 million a year ago.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2020.
Companies in this story: (TSX:CNR)
The Canadian Press
