CMA CGM reports lower profit in Q3

The third largest container carrier said that it has outperformed a market plagued by overcapacity and lower rates.    CMA CGM said Friday it had a consolidated net profit of $51 million in the third quarter of 2015, compared with $201 million in the same 2014 period.
   Revenue dropped to $3.977 billion in the third quarter of 2015, 9 percent less than the $4.368 billion recorded in the same 2014 period.
   CMA CGM said it “outperformed the market average in an industry shaped by a sharp fall in freight rates and overcapacity in certain markets.”
   “Freight rates were especially weak on certain lines, including Asia-Europe. Other lines such as transpacific routes continued to benefit from a better balance between supply and demand. CMA CGM has adjusted its capacity accordingly,” the world’s third largest container shipping company said in a statement.
   The French carrier said it carried 3.3 million TEUs in the third quarter versus 3.2 million TEUs in the same period last year and that increase helped stem the revenue decline.
    “There was a further fall in unit costs over the period, down 10.7 percent on the back of the decline in bunker prices,” the carrier said.
   CMA CGM said it has “a strong financial position. In early July, the Group redeemed the last of its bonds maturing in 2017 and 2019 out of proceeds from its June 2015 bond issue.”
   During the third quarter, CMA CGM said it increased the number of 18,000 TEU ships in its fleet from three to five and that a sixth will be added this quarter. It also added three 2,100 TEU ships.
   The intra-European shipping company OPDR was consolidated into the company’s operations on July 1, joining MacAndrews, which is also an intra-European carrier.
   The company said it continued to bolster its presence in Africa, opening new agencies and developing new ground transport solutions. In August 2015, it was also named the successful bidder for the 25-year Kribi Container Terminal concession in Cameroon.
    “The container shipping sector is facing lower-than-expected volume growth, putting pressure on freight rates for many lines in the short term. Against this backdrop, the Group is continuing to make various capacity adjustments in order to maintain satisfactory load rates and optimise the use of its vessels,” said CMA CGM. It said “freight rates are expected to remain weak in fourth-quarter 2015. The market should rebalance during 2016.”
   In the first nine months of the year CMA CGM had a profit of $613 million, 56 percent more than in the first nine months of 2014. CMA CGM said it expects to outperform the industry in 2016.