CMB lost 5 million euros in 3rd quarter

CMB lost 5 million euros in 3rd quarter    The Belgian shipping group CMB lost 5 million euros ($6 million) in the third quarter, as its dry bulk and tanker shipping activities performed worse than in the first half of the year.
   The company, which de-merged its gas shipping arm Exmar in March, described the latest quarter as a “weak third quarter,” but did not provide comparable group profit figures for the third quarter of 2002.
   In the latest quarter, the group’s dry bulk arm, Bocimar, suffered an 11-million-euro ($13 million) loss. CMB said that Bocimar was not able to benefit from higher bulk freight rates because it was tied to freight derivative contracts. In the first half of the year, Bocimar had made a loss of 10 million euros.
   In the third quarter, the Euronav tanker shipping arm of CMB posted a profit of 3 million euros ($3 million). The latest result is down substantially from the 46-million-euro first-half profit of Euronav. CMB said that the tanker market has been marked by high volatility in the third quarter. The average spot market rate for a very large crude carrier rose from $20,000 per day in early August to almost $70,000 in mid-September, but recently fell again to $20,000, CMB reported.