CP Makes a Share Issue

Article Excerpt

CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY LTD. $38.30 (Toronto symbol CP; Shares outstanding: 153.8 million; Market cap: $5.9 billion; SI Rating: Average) earned $178 million, or $1.15 a share before one-time items in the three months ended December 31, 2008, down 3.8% from $185 million, or $1.20 a share, a year earlier. The drop in earnings was largely caused by higher fuel and labour costs. Revenue, however, rose 8.3%, to $1.3 billion from $1.2 billion as higher rates offset lower freight volumes. CP plans to issue up to 13.9 million new common shares at $36.75 each. The proceeds of $510.8 million will help CP cover its pension costs, which will rise from $95 million in 2008 to between $150 million and $195 million in 2009. In 2010, CP estimates its pension obligations will continue to climb, to between $295 million and $345 million. The extra shares will increase the total outstanding by roughly 9%. This won’t significantly dilute the interest of current shareholders. To conserve cash, CP…