22 March 2007
Canadian Pacific Says it Will Weather Tough First Quarter
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Green, Canadian Pacific CEO, speaks to the media following the
company's annual meeting in Calgary on 5 May 2006.
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Despite what it says has been a rough start to its year, Canadian
Pacific has reconfirmed its annual profit forecast.
The company said Wednesday after stock markets closed that it still expects to make a profit of between $4.30 and $4.45 per diluted
share, after factoring out the effect of foreign currency fluctuations and other items.
"Since the beginning of the year, we have experienced near-record snow pack in the mountains, flooding in the
Midwest, and most recently, elevated rainfall and an accelerated melt in our western corridor," said Fred Green, CP's president
and CEO.
"These conditions have combined to produce snow and mud slides and wash-outs that have, in various locations, closed
both the Trans-Canada Highway and our railway. These weather-related conditions, along with impacts at the
Port of Vancouver related to the strike at CN, have affected the operational fluidity of CP's rail network this quarter."
Green said that while the company's profits are expected to come in as forecast, he warned that first-quarter revenues
will be softer than forecast.
CP said a recent healthy outlook from Fording Canadian Coal Trust should help the railway overcome its first-quarter
challenges.
CP serves all of the mines in southeastern British Columbia owned by Elk Valley Coal Partnership, which is 60 percent owned by
Fording.
Shares of CP lost 47 cents at $63.86 on the TSX.
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