CALGARY, April 5, 2012 /PRNewswire/ - Canadian Pacific
Railway Limited (TSX: CP) (NYSE: CP) today issued the following
statement in response to Pershing Square's proxy circular.
John E. Cleghorn, Chairman of the
Board, said:
"Pershing Square continues its pattern of making misleading and
inaccurate statements about CP and fails to present any plan or
even concrete suggestions to achieve its previously stated target
of a 65 per cent operating ratio by 2015. Even after over
five months, Pershing Square is still unable to articulate any plan
that would deliver results comparable to CP's Multi-Year Plan."
"The Board believes that Pershing Square's repeated proposal to
replace CP's CEO, Fred Green, with
Hunter Harrison would delay and
damage CP's value-generating plan and would undermine CP's ongoing
initiatives to increase volume and improve operations and
profitability. A number of CP customers have expressed concerns
about the risk and disruption that would occur should Hunter Harrison be installed as CEO of CP. We
have received strong customer support for our progress, and we
expect further growth as we continue to deliver strong service
execution."
"The CP Board has extensive experience in railroading and other
relevant fields to oversee the implementation of the Multi-Year
Plan and is holding management accountable for the results. The
Board has reviewed and verified the Company's Multi-Year Plan,
which is producing record operating metrics - a leading indicator
of financial results. CP's Board and management team are focused on
maximizing shareholder value by driving volume growth, expanding
network capacity to safely and efficiently support higher volumes
and controlling costs."
CP notes the following comments about CP made by the same
independent financial analysts quoted by Pershing Square in its
proxy circular1:
- "CP has a well developed plan for OR improvement based on
detailed productivity drivers, growth with their key customers, and
solid pricing gains." (Thomas
Wadewitz of J.P. Morgan, February 21,
2012)
- "[R]ecent operating performance has been very strong (carloads
are up 7.8% QTD, leading growth amongst the Class I rails, and
velocity is up 27%), which is likely to drive solid financial
performance in the near-term." (Christian
Wetherbee of Citi, March 23,
2012)
- "First quarter 2012 is posting significant gains above [BAML]
targets, as volumes are up 7.5% quarter-to-date, 280 bps above
[BAML's] target, and velocity has averaged 25 mph quarter-to-date,
up 27% year-over-year." (Ken Hoexter
of Bank of America Merrill Lynch, March 22,
2012)
Use only CP's WHITE universal proxy, which offers
shareholders a clear and fair means of choosing the best board to
serve CP shareholders - do NOT use Pershing Square's blue proxy.
The CP Board recommends that shareholders vote for the CP nominees,
including William Ackman of Pershing
Square.
Shareholders with questions about how to use the WHITE
universal proxy should contact MacKenzie Partners, Inc. at
1-800-322-2885 or Georgeson at 1-866-374-9187.
1 Permission to use quotes neither sought nor
obtained. The views expressed and numbers cited by
independent financial analysts are their own and are not
necessarily endorsed by CP.
Note on Forward-Looking Information
This news release contains certain forward-looking information
within the meaning of applicable securities laws relating, but not
limited, to our operations, priorities and plans, anticipated
financial performance, business prospects, planned capital
expenditures, programs and strategies. This forward-looking
information also includes, but is not limited to, statements
concerning expectations, beliefs, plans, goals, objectives,
assumptions and statements about possible future events,
conditions, and results of operations or performance.
Forward-looking information may contain statements with words such
as "anticipate", "believe", "expect", "plan" or similar words
suggesting future outcomes.
Undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking
information as actual results may differ materially from the
forward-looking information. Forward-looking information is
not a guarantee of future performance. By its nature, CP's
forward-looking information involves numerous assumptions, inherent
risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ
materially from the forward-looking information, including but not
limited to the following factors: changes in business strategies;
general North American and global economic, credit and business
conditions; risks in agricultural production such as weather
conditions and insect populations; the availability and price of
energy commodities; the effects of competition and pricing
pressures; industry capacity; shifts in market demand; inflation;
changes in laws and regulations, including regulation of rates;
changes in taxes and tax rates; potential increases in maintenance
and operating costs; uncertainties of investigations, proceedings
or other types of claims and litigation; labour disputes; risks and
liabilities arising from derailments; transportation of dangerous
goods; timing of completion of capital and maintenance projects;
currency and interest rate fluctuations; effects of changes in
market conditions and discount rates on the financial position of
pension plans and investments, including long-term floating rate
notes; and various events that could disrupt operations, including
severe weather, droughts, floods, avalanches and earthquakes as
well as security threats and governmental response to them, and
technological changes. The foregoing list of factors is not
exhaustive.
These and other factors are detailed from time to time in
reports filed by CP with securities regulators in Canada and the
United States. Reference should be made to
"Management's Discussion and Analysis" in CP's annual and interim
reports, Annual Information Form and Form 40-F. Readers are
cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking
information. Forward-looking information is based on current
expectations, estimates and projections and it is possible that
predictions, forecasts, projections, and other forms of
forward-looking information will not be achieved by CP.
Except as required by law, CP undertakes no obligation to update
publicly or otherwise revise any forward-looking information,
whether as a result of new information, future events or
otherwise.
About Canadian Pacific
Canadian Pacific (TSX:CP)(NYSE:CP) operates a North American
transcontinental railway providing freight transportation services,
logistics solutions and supply chain expertise. Incorporating
best-in-class technology and environmental practices, CP is
re-defining itself as a modern 21st century transportation company
built on safety, service reliability and operational efficiency.
Visit www.CPonTrack.com and see how Canadian Pacific is further
driving shareholder value.
SOURCE Canadian Pacific