CMA CGM has released its Q3 financial results as revenue and operating profit drops significantly year on year.
First-half 2023 trends remained at play in the third quarter of 2023, with deteriorated market conditions in the transport and logistics industry.
Revenue stood at $11.4 billion in the third quarter of 2023, with a gradual rebalancing of contributions from the Group’s maritime shipping and logistics businesses.
EBITDA came close to $2.0 billion, 78.2 per cent lower than in third-quarter 2022. EBITDA margin came in at 17.5 per cent, down 28.5 points and net income for the Group amounted to $388 million. The debt net of financial resources totalled $0.1 billion on 30 September 2023.
Consolidated revenue from the Group’s shipping operations amounted to $7.6 billion, down 51.8 per cent year on year, reflecting the on-going normalisation of freight rates.
EBITDA totalled $1.6 billion, 81.6 per cent lower than in third quarter 2022. EBITDA margin came in at 21.0 per cent, down 34 points. Average revenue per TEU amounted to $1,322, down 52.3 per cent year on year.
Volumes carried were up 0.9 per cent compared to the same period in 2022, representing a total of 5.7 million TEU. Volumes continued to grow on the North-South and short-sea lines, while further normalising on the East-West lines, due to inventory drawdowns in the US and more moderate household consumption in an inflationary environment, CMA CGM reported.
Revenue from logistics operations totalled $3.7 billion in the third quarter of the year. EBITDA stood at $348 million, a 3.0 per cent decrease year on year.
According to CMA CGM, the stability of the logistics business, at a time of declining trade, reflects on one hand the slowdown in freight markets and on the other hand the strengthening of the service offering and the resilience of certain activities.
Revenue from other activities, including port terminals and CMA CGM Air Cargo, rose by 5.3 per cent to $526 million. EBITDA was $56 million, down 58.4 per cent, mainly due to the normalisation of volumes in port terminals and in particular a decrease in revenue from storage which was linked to congestions.
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Commenting on the results for the period, Rodolphe Saadé, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the CMA CGM Group, said: “The industry continued to normalise in the third quarter, with a return to pre-pandemic market conditions.
“Our performance remained very solid however, confirming the relevance of our growth strategy in terminals and logistics. We are consequently more resilient as we enter this new cycle.
“The slowdown in the global economy is expected to continue weighing on our industry in the period ahead, but volumes carried are still robust. We remain committed to controlling our operating costs and are continuing to focus on decarbonising and digitalising the supply chain to best meet our customers’ needs,” Saadé added.
In early October 2023, CMA CGM announced the establishment of ZEBOX UK in Manchester, UK, with the goal of paving new routes for co-innovation between corporates and entrepreneurs across industries.
