France’s CMA CGM group recorded a net profit of US$94 million in the second quarter of the year versus $268 million in the second quarter of 2013. But the world’s third largest container shipping company said last year’s amount included a $248-million gain from the sale of its 49 percent stake in its subsidiary Terminal Link.
Despite “a market environment shaped by diverging developments in different regions,” it said it achieved consolidated revenue of $4.2 billion for the second quarter, up 3.7 percent year-on-year.
Core EBIT amounted to $204 million in the second quarter of 2014 against $172 million in the prior-year period, representing an 18.4 percent increase.
The Marseilles-based group achieved record-high volumes for the period, rising 8 percent to 3.1 million TEUs (twenty-foot-equivalent units).
Volume growth came mainly from developing the group’s Asia-Europe and Africa lines, and from the Asia-Pacific lines of its subsidiary ANL, “reflecting CMA CGM’s enhanced services portfolio in these regions,” said an official company statement.
Average revenue per TEU decreased by 3.9 percent over the period, even as CMA CGM said its operational efficiency led to a reduction in cost per TEU by 4.8 percent.
On developments for the rest of the year, CMA CGM said it is set to receive the delivery of the Elbe and Rhône vessels in the coming weeks following the arrival of the Danube, the first 9,000-TEU long-term charter vessel deployed on the Black Sea lines.
The expansion of its port terminal operations will continue, including the development of a new terminal in Mundra, India, following a partnership agreement signed with Indian company Adani.
CMA CGM likewise started bilateral negotiations to develop a terminal in Kingston, Jamaica, that will become its transshipment hub for the Caribbean.
In addition, it plans to make Reunion Island its transshipment hub for the Indian Ocean following expansion work at Port Reunion.
On the outlook for the year, CMA CGM said it expects to sustain its third-quarter operating performance. “Freight rates remained volatile overall, with the usual high level of volumes at this time of the year helping drive current rate increases,” it added.
Photo: L2F1
