Calgary Alberta - Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) saw earnings drop in the first three months of 2018, blaming brutal winter weather even as an increase in freight shipments helped its sales top Wall Street forecasts.
 
The Calgary-based company, which runs one of North America's largest railway networks, said net income dropped 19.25 percent in the three months to 31 Mar 2018 to $348 million from $431 million in the year-ago period.
 
Earnings per share were $2.41, 18 percent less than the same period last year.
 
Adjusted earnings were $2.70, 8 percent higher than last year.
 
Revenue rose 4 percent to $1.66 billion from $1.6 billion last year.
 
Analysts had expected net income of $384.74 million, or $2.64 a share, and adjusted earnings per share of $2.69, on revenue of $1.6 billion, according to Thomson Reuters.
 
Chief executive and president Keith Creel said in a statement:
 
"This was a challenging quarter, as we battled extreme weather and unprecedented demand, specifically in the northern reaches of our network. Despite these challenges, we delivered 6 percent more freight than last year, demonstrating once again the resiliency of our operating model and the commitment from our family of professional railroaders. With the extraordinary winter weather behind us, we built a tremendous amount of momentum through March, one of our best months in recent history, positioning us well for the rest of the year."
 
CP shares are down 1.6 percent this year after rising 28 percent over 2017.
 
Its stock was little moved in after-hours trading.
 
Jessica Dye.