CALGARY — Canadian Pacific (TSX:CP) says its first-quarter earnings will be lower than a year ago due to the severity and length of winter this year.
Canada’s second-largest railway said Monday it has been hit by slower train speeds and avalanches that have cut into efficiency. “Since the new year, multiple severe weather events have caused significant disruptions to train operations across our network,” president and chief executive Fred Green said in a statement after the close of markets.
“The impact of avalanche disruptions are just one factor that increased fivefold this year in our busiest corridor through the mountains causing very inefficient stop-start operations.” CP said it expects to earn between 12 and 22 cents per diluted share for the quarter, down by about 40 cents from last year.
The average analyst estimate according to Thomson Reuters had been for a profit of 71 cents per cent.