Oct 17 (Reuters) - Railroad operator Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd CP.TO CP.N reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit on higher shipments and raised its full-year profit forecast.
CP now expects 2017 adjusted earnings to grow at double-digit percentage. It had previously expected high single-digit percentage growth.
The company's net income rose to C$510 million ($407.15 million), or C$3.50 per share, in the third quarter ended Sept. 30, from C$347 million, or C$2.34 per share, a year earlier. momentum grew over the course of the quarter, setting us up for a strong finish to the year" Chief Executive Keith Creel said.
CP reported an operating ratio - operating costs as a percentage of revenue - of 56.7 percent, down from 57.7 percent, a year earlier. The lower the ratio, the more efficient the railroad.
Excluding items, the company earned C$2.90 per share, ahead of analysts' average estimate of C$2.87, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
The Calgary-based company's total revenue rose to C$1.60 billion from C$1.55 billion.
Revenue from grain shipments, the biggest contributor to the company's revenue, fell nearly 6 percent to C$351 million in the quarter. ($1 = C$1.25)