CMA CGM sees performance decline in Q4

   CMA CGM, the world’s third largest container shipping company, said it had a profit attributable to shareholders of $70 million in the third quarter, compared to $363 million in the same 2012 period.
   Revenues in the third quarter were $4.1 billion, down 2.1 percent from the $4.2 billion reported in the same period a year earlier.
   The company said earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) was $238 million in the third quarter — $271 million if non-recurring items such as asset disposals and impairment were excluded. That is down from an EBIT of $541 million in the third quarter of 2012.
   The company carried a record 3 million TEU in the third quarter, 11 percent more than in the same 2012 period. The average revenue per TEU declined by 11.8 percent, year over year, when Asia-Northern Europe market rates, as measured by the SCFI, contracted by more than 45 percent over the quarter.
   “This performance, in terms of volumes and price resistance, illustrates CMA CGM’s resilience in a market that remains extremely volatile,” the company said, adding that benefits derived from its size and global presence are “enabling it to diversify its activities by geography, customer category and service solution, particularly in its onshore operations.”
   The company noted that “given the usual year-end seasonal variations and currently prevailing freight rates, performance in the final three months of the year will likely see a decline compared with the third quarter 2013.”