French ocean carrier CMA CGM reported revenue of US$12.3 billion and net income of US$1.3 billion in the second quarter of the year. These figures represent huge year-on-year decreases over the previous record year for the container lines when CMA CGM achieved US$19.5 billion in revenue and US$7.6 billion in profit.
Additionally, the company’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) reached US$2.6 billion, translating to a 73% year-on-year decline.
Commenting on the results for the period, Rodolphe Saadé, chairman and CEO of the CMA CGM Group, said, “As expected, our industry continued to normalise in the second quarter and, despite difficult market conditions, our performance remains robust. In recent years, we have significantly strengthened our two strategic pillars: transport and logistics. On that basis, our Group will pursue its transformation, as it continues to expand and to integrate recently acquired subsidiaries, while stepping up investments to decarbonize its activities.”
CMA CGM noted that the aforementioned results are driven mostly by the Group’s shipping business. The Marseille-based company announced that consolidated revenue from shipping operations amounted to US$8.4 billion, down 47.9% from the second quarter of 2022. Moreover, EBITDA totaled US$2.2 billion, 76% lower than in the prior-year period.
The average revenue per TEU amounted to US$1,491, down 10.3% year-on-year, with CMA CGM handling 5.6 million TEUs, almost the same volumes as the previous year.
“Volumes remained buoyant on the North-South lines, but the Transpacific and Asia-Europe lines were hit by the slowdown in household consumption and dealer inventory drawdowns,” noted the company in a statement.
CMA CGM noted that late 2022 trends continued to prevail in the first half, with “deteriorated market conditions in the transport and logistics industry”.
Macroeconomic forecasts for the second half of 2023 anticipate sluggish global growth given the persistent inflationary pressures weighing on consumer spending as well as the measures taken by central banks in response, and geopolitical uncertainties, according to CMA CGM’s announcement.
