freight and food make investors richer

CN Rail (CNR) has increased it's dividend by 7% to $0.27 per common share. That marks 14 consecutive dividend increases since the company went public in 1995. CN's 4th quarter revenue and adjusted earnings were both down from 2008.

Canadian grocer, Metro (MRU.A) has increased it's quarterly dividend by 23.6%! Metro now yields 1.7%. Adjusted fully diluted net earning were up 8% in the first quarter of fiscal 2010.

net worth update, jan '10

It's time to report my bimonthly net worth. I report my net worth on the moneygardener or around the 15th of May, July, September, November, January, and March.

Net worth results for the 2 Months Ended January 15, 2010:

• Debt/Asset ratio dropped to 0.46 from 0.47 (record low)
• Net Worth gained 3.0% (record high)
• Total Assets rose 1.8% (record high)
• Total Liabilities rose by 0.4%
• House Value/Total Assets fell to 61.7% (record low)
• Non-Registered Portfolio grew 5.3% (record high)

Our net worth growth keeps chugging along since bottoming out in March of 2009. Savings have still been a bit depressed but I see this picking up in February and March. We are still doing all the right things by living well within our means, saving regularly for investments in our future, and holding and adding to shares of dividend growing corporations.

Fortis powers dividend up

For the 37th consecutive year, Canada-based power distributor Fortis (FTS) has hiked their dividend. This increase came in at 7.7% from $0.26 to $0.28 per share.

This holding of mine represents a good example of how dividend increases and a timely purchase can add up to a profitable situation over time.

I purchased Fortis at an attractive price during the credit crisis and my adjusted cost base (ACB) is $21.73/share. Due to the fact that Fortis has been increasing their dividend regularly and that the share price has risen, my yield on cost (the yield that I am receiving on my intial investment) is 5.2% while the actual yield on Fortis shares today is only 3.9%. So someone purchasing Fortis shares today will receive 3.9% of their total investment in cash annually while I am garnering 5.2% of mine.

2009 net worth results

Well, with 2009 becoming a distant memory it's time to look back at how net worth held up here and with our usual suspects.

First off our net worth rose about 33% for 2009 calendar. That sounds much better than it truly is though, as our net worth was actually at a higher level in May of 2008 than it was in March of 2009. A milestone for 2010 would be to see our house value get to the point where it makes up 50% of our total assets. It currently sits at about 62%.

The Maritime Super-Blogger, at Million Dollar Journey posted a 29% increase in net worth over 2009 reaching the $400,000 mark. The 30 year old is 40% of the way to his goal of a $1,000,000 net worth by age 35.

Tim at Canadian Dream increased his net worth by 39% in 2009. During the year he focused on building his market investments. His net worth stands at $304,500.

If any other bloggers have calculated their net worth increase for 2009 please drop me a comment with your results or a link to your blog, and I will post your results with a link in a follow up post to this one.