First Quarter 2011 Financial ResultsApril 26, 2011
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
The financial results in this presentation were determined on the basis of U.S.GAAP. Please refer to the website www.cn.ca for the reconciliation of certainnon-GAAP measures to comparable GAAP measures. To the extent we haveprovided guidance which are non-GAAP financial measures, we may not be ableto provide a reconciliation to the GAAP measures, due to unknown variables anduncertainty related to future results.
Certain information included in this presentation constitutes “forward-lookingstatements” within the meaning of the United States Private Securities LitigationReform Act of 1995 and under Canadian securities laws. CN cautions that, bytheir nature, these forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties andassumptions. The Company cautions that its assumptions may not materializeand that current economic conditions render such assumptions, althoughreasonable at the time they were made, subject to greater uncertainty. Suchforward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance andinvolve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which maycause the actual results or performance of the Company or the rail industry to bematerially different from the outlook or any future results or performance impliedby such statements. Key assumptions used in determining forward-lookinginformation are set forth below.
Key assumptions
Current 2011 outlook:
CN’s revised 2011 outlook is based on a number of economic and market
assumptions. The Company forecasts that North American industrial production
will increase by about 4.5 per cent in 2011. CN also expects U.S. housing starts
to be about 650,000 units and U.S. motor vehicles sales to be approximately 13
million units for the year. In addition, CN is assuming a weaker 2010/2011
Canadian grain crop, partly offset by a higher carry-over stock, and a 2011/2012
Canadian grain crop that is in-line with the five-year average. With these
assumptions, CN is targeting solid, mid-single-digit carload growth for 2011,
along with continued pricing improvement above inflation. CN assumes the
Canadian-U.S. exchange rate to be in the range of C$1.00 to C$1.05, and that
the price of crude oil (West Texas Intermediate) for the year will be in the range
of US$100 to US$110 per barrel. In 2011, CN plans to invest approximately
C$1.7 billion in capital programs, of which more than C$1 billion will be targeted
on track infrastructure to maintain a safe and fluid railway network. The
Company will also invest in projects to support a number of productivity and
growth initiatives.
Previous 2011 outlook:
CN made a number of economic and market assumptions in preparing its
initial 2011 outlook. The Company had forecast that North American
industrial production for the year would increase by about four per cent. CN
also expected U.S. housing starts to be about 675,000 units and U.S. motor
vehicles sales to be approximately 13 million units for the year. In addition,
CN assumed a weaker 2010/2011 Canadian grain crop, partly offset by a
higher carry-over stock. With those assumptions, CN targeted carload
growth in the mid-single digit range, along with continued pricing
improvement above inflation. CN assumed the Canadian-U.S. exchange
rate would be around par for 2011, and that the price of crude oil (West
Texas Intermediate) for the year would be in the range of US$90-95 per
barrel. In 2011,CN planned to invest approximately C$1.7 billion in capital
programs, of which more than C$1 billion would be targeted on track
infrastructure to maintain a safe and fluid railway network. In addition, the
Company said it would invest in projects to support a number of productivity
and growth initiatives.
Important risk factors that could affect the forward-looking statements
include, but are not limited to, the effects of general economic and business
conditions; industry competition; inflation, currency and interest rate
fluctuations; changes in fuel prices; legislative and/or regulatory
developments; compliance with environmental laws and regulations;
actions by regulators; various events which could disrupt operations,
including natural events such as severe weather, droughts, floods and
earthquakes; labor negotiations and disruptions; environmental claims;
uncertainties of investigations; proceedings or other types of claims and
litigation; risks and liabilities arising from derailments; and other risks
detailed from time to time in reports filed by CN with securities regulators in
Canada and the United States. Reference should be made to
“Management’s Discussion and Analysis” in CN’s annual and interim
reports, Annual Information Form and Form 40-F filed with Canadian and
U.S. securities regulators, available on CN’s website, for a summary of
major risk factors.
CN assumes no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements
to reflect future events, changes in circumstances, or changes in beliefs,
unless required by applicable Canadian securities laws. In the event CN
does update any forward-looking statement, no inference should be made
that CN will make additional updates with respect to that statement, related
matters, or any other forward-looking statement.
Claude Mongeau President and Chief Executive Officer
Q1 2011 Highlights
(1) Please see website, www.cn.ca/nonGAAP, for an explanation and/or reconciliation of these non-GAAP measures.
Revenues of C$2,084M
up 9% at constant currency (1)
Operating ratio of 69.0%
0.3 pts better than last year
Adjusted Diluted EPS of C$0.90
up 12.5% on adjusted basis (1)
YTD Free Cash flow of C$445M (1)
Solid start to the year
4
Keith CreelExecutive Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer
Performing well despite challenging environment6
Q1 Operating HighlightsGTM’s per train mile Cars per yard switching hour
Car miles per dayTrailing GTM’s per total
horsepower
Terminal Dwell (entire railroad, hours)
Train Speed (mph)
* Excluding EJ&E
7
Delivering Service To Our Customers
Supply Chain Collaboration
End-to-end coal plan
Scheduled grain plan
Terminal service level agreements
Capacity Available for Growth
Hiring, training and onboarding
Cars, DP power and extended sidings
Precision Engineering
Operational and Service Excellence
Jean-Jacques RuestExecutive Vice-President and Chief Marketing Officer
2011 2010
%
Change
Favorable
(Unfavorable)
%
Change at
constant
currency(1)
Favorable
(Unfavorable)
Petroleum and chemicals $ 342 $ 321 7% 10%
Metals and minerals 209 210 - 3%
Forest products 299 288 4% 8%
Automotive 115 114 1% 5%
Coal 141 132 7% 10%
Grain and fertilizers 406 372 9% 12%
Intermodal 392 351 12% 13%
Total rail freight revenues $ 1,904 $ 1,788 6% 10%
Other revenues 180 177 2% 4%
Total revenues $ 2,084 $ 1,965 6% 9%
In millions of Canadian dollars, unless otherwise indicated
(1) Please see website, www.cn.ca/nonGAAP, for an explanation of this non-GAAP measure.
9
Q1 Revenues
As Reported
Supply chain collaboration agreements
producing results
Continued strength in both import and export
traffic
Acquired 1,000 new heated containers for
domestic traffic
(1) Revenues at constant currency - Please see website, www.cn.ca/nonGAAP, for an explanation of this non-GAAP measure. 10
Intermodal
Market Breakdown
First Quarter (2011 vs 2010)
Revenues (1)
RTMs
¢ / RTM (1)
Carloads
Revenue / car (1)
2011 Q1 Revenues
Scheduled Grain Plan supports growth and
high commodity prices support fertilizers and
potash applications
Continued high demand for thermal and
metallurgical coal
Ridley coal terminal planned for expansion at
year end 2011 Q1 Revenues
(1) Revenues at constant currency - Please see website, www.cn.ca/nonGAAP, for an explanation of this non-GAAP measure.11
Bulk
Commodity Breakdown
Revenues (1)
RTMs
¢ / RTM (1)
Carloads
Revenue / car (1)
First Quarter (2011 vs 2010)
Lumber, wood pulp and wood pellets
exports continue to trend up
P&C developing innovative solutions
Steel and concentrates market share gains
(1) Revenues at constant currency - Please see website, www.cn.ca/nonGAAP, for an explanation of this non-GAAP measure. 12
Commodity Breakdown
2011 Q1 Revenues
First Quarter (2011 vs 2010)
Revenues (1)
RTMs
¢ / RTM (1)
Carloads
Revenue / car (1)
Manufacturing
Luc JobinExecutive Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer
2011 2010
Change
Favorable
(Unfavorable)
Revenues $ 2,084 $ 1,965 6%
Operating expenses 1,439 1,362
Operating income 645 603 7%
Interest expense (86) (92)
Other income 300 162
Income before income taxes 859 673
Income tax expense (191) (162)
Net income $ 668 $ 511 31%
Diluted EPS $ 1.45 $ 1.08 34%
Adjusted diluted EPS(1) $ 0.90 $ 0.80 12.5%
Shares (diluted in millions) 461.8 474.9
Operating ratio 69.0% 69.3% 0.3 pts
In millions of Canadian dollars, except EPS data, unless otherwise indicated
(1) 2011 and 2010 exclude items that affect the comparability of the results of operations.
Please see website, www.cn.ca/nonGAAP, for a reconciliation of this non-GAAP measure.
14
Q1 Results
2011 2010
%
Change
Favorable
(Unfavorable)
%
Change at
constant
currency(1)
Favorable
(Unfavorable)
Labor and fringe benefits $ 473 $ 470 (1%) (3%)
Purchased services and material 286 258 (11%) (14%)
Fuel 327 253 (29%) (36%)
Depreciation and amortization 218 205 (6%) (8%)
Equipment rents 51 60 15% 12%
Casualty and other 84 116 28% 26%
Total operating expenses $ 1,439 $ 1,362 (6%) (9%)
In millions of Canadian dollars, unless otherwise indicated
(1) Please see website, www.cn.ca/nonGAAP, for an explanation of this non-GAAP measure.
15
Q1 Operating Expenses
As Reported
Net income $ 668
Non-cash adjustments 34
Payments for income taxes (138)
Other working capital items (65)
Capital expenditures (net) (220)
Proceeds on rail-line sale 299
Other investing 14
Dividends (149)
Effect of foreign exchange fluctuations on
US dollar-denominated cash and cash equivalents 2
Free cash flow $ 445
Financing activities (excluding dividends) $ (342)
Total net indebtedness at end of period $ 5,332
Adjusted debt-to-total capitalization (1) 35.9%
Adjusted debt-to-adjusted EBITDA (1)(2) 1.63x
In millions of Canadian dollars, unless otherwise indicated
(1) Debt adjusted to include the present value of operating lease commitments.
(2) EBITDA refers to earnings before interest, income taxes, depreciation and amortization, and is adjusted to exclude Other income and the deemed interest
on operating leases.
See website, www.cn.ca/nonGAAP, for a reconciliation of the various non-GAAP measures presented on this slide. 16
Q1 2011 Free Cash Flow
See Forward-Looking Statements at the beginning of the presentation for a summary of key assumptions and important risk factors underlying CN’s 2011 outlook
Continue to leverage the recovery
Pipeline of productivity initiatives
Solid mid-single-digit carload growth
Pricing above inflation
Some headwinds in 2011
Canadian dollar, Depreciation and Fuel
Higher cash taxes
Expecting up to 15% growth over
2010 adjusted diluted EPS (1)
Free cash flow in the order of
C$1.2B (1) (2)
(1) Please see website, www.cn.ca/nonGAAP, for an explanation and/or reconciliation of these non-GAAP measures.
(2) CN’s revised 2011 free cash flow outlook is based on the Company’s first-quarter performance, its higher earnings forecast for the year, cash proceeds from the first-
quarter Toronto rail-line sale, and a potential C$200M additional voluntary pension contribution.
17
2011 Financial Outlook
Strong shareholder value focus
Claude Mongeau President and Chief Executive Officer
19
Delivering on Our Strategic Agenda
Operational
and Service
Excellence
Sustainable
top line
growth
Next level
of Precision
Railroading
Smart
stakeholder
engagement
Connect
with our
people
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