MONTREAL, Jan. 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ - CN (TSX: CNR) (NYSE:
CNI) announced today that its Board of Directors has approved a 20
per cent increase in the Company's quarterly cash dividend. With
this increase, CN's dividend on an annualized basis is C$1.50 per common share.
Luc Jobin, CN executive vice-president and chief financial
officer, said: "We are pleased to uphold our track record of
consistently returning cash to shareholders. This dividend increase
is testimony to our confidence in the strong cash flow generation
capacity of CN throughout business cycles, and reaffirms our
objective of gradually increasing the dividend payout ratio toward
35 per cent."
A quarterly dividend of thirty-seven-and-one-half cents
(C$0.375) per common share will be
paid on March 31, 2016, to
shareholders of record at the close of business on March 10, 2016.
Including today's announcement, CN has declared annual increases
to its dividend 20 consecutive times, averaging 17 per cent per
year, since its initial public offering of shares in 1995.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain
information included in this news release constitutes
"forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United
States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and under
Canadian securities laws. CN cautions that, by their nature, these
forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties and
assumptions and are subject to our board's discretion in respect of
the declaration of dividends. The Company cautions that its
assumptions may not materialize and that current economic
conditions render such assumptions, although reasonable at the time
they were made, subject to greater uncertainty. Such
forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance
and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other
factors which may cause the actual results or performance of the
Company or the rail industry to be materially different from the
outlook or any future results or performance implied by such
statements.
Important risk factors that could affect the above
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 and assumptions 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 risks and assumptions.
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.
CN is a true backbone of the economy whose team of approximately
25,000 railroaders transports more than C$250 billion worth of goods annually for a wide
range of business sectors, ranging from resource products to
manufactured products to consumer goods, across a rail network of
approximately 20,000 route-miles spanning Canada and mid-America. CN – Canadian National
Railway Company, along with its operating railway subsidiaries –
serves the cities and ports of Vancouver, Prince
Rupert, B.C., Montreal,
Halifax, New Orleans, and Mobile, Ala., and the metropolitan areas of
Toronto, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Calgary, Chicago, Memphis, Detroit, Duluth,
Minn./Superior, Wis., and
Jackson, Miss., with connections
to all points in North America.
For more information about CN, visit the Company's website at
www.cn.ca.
SOURCE CN