OREANDA-NEWS. CN reported its financial and operating results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2015.

First-quarter 2015 financial highlights
* Net income was CAD 704 million, or CAD 0.86 per diluted share, compared with net income of CAD 623 million, or C\\$0.75 per diluted share, for first-quarter 2014.
* First-quarter 2015 diluted earnings per share (EPS) increased 30 per cent to CAD 0.86 from adjusted diluted EPS of C\\$0.66 in Q1-2014, which excluded a gain on a rail line sale.
* Q1-2015 net income of CAD 704 million increased 28 per cent over adjusted net income of CAD 551 million for the first quarter of 2014.
* Q1-2015 operating income increased 30 per cent to CAD 1,063 million.
* First-quarter 2015 revenues increased 15 per cent to CAD 3,098 million, revenue ton-miles grew by seven per cent, and carloadings increased nine per cent.
* CN's operating ratio for Q1-2015 improved by 3.9 points to 65.7 per cent from 69.6 per cent the year before.
* Free cash flow for first-quarter 2015 was CAD 521 million, up from CAD 494 million for the year-earlier quarter.

Claude Mongeau, president and chief executive officer, said: "CN turned in a solid first-quarter performance thanks to strong freight demand and continued productivity improvements, helped in part by easier winter conditions compared with last year's polar vortex.

"CN is pleased to affirm its outlook for double-digit EPS growth in 2015 versus last year's adjusted diluted EPS of CAD 3.76, despite weaker than expected energy markets and a mixed economy.

"As always we remain committed to growing our business faster than the overall economy and doing so at low incremental cost. We are equally committed to running a safe railway and are increasing our 2015 capital envelope by C\\$100 million to CAD 2.7 billion to sustain additional rail infrastructure safety investments."