CMA CGM reports turnaround

CMA CGM reports turnaround    CMA CGM, the world's third-largest container shipping group, said it had net profit of $864 million in the first six months of 2010 compared to a loss of $518 million in the first half of 2009.
   The French carrier, reporting results in U.S. dollars, said revenue for the first half of the year was $6.8 billion, up 41 percent from the $4.8 billion over the first half of 2009. Freight volumes increased 22 percent to 4.4 million TEU from 3.6 million TEUs.
   “The recovery in business that began to emerge in late 2009, gained further momentum during the first six months of 2010,” the company said. “Second-quarter performance is expected to continue over the third quarter and year-end trends remain positive.”
   CMA CGM said its results reflect “strategic decisions to invest in large containerships and to deploy a cost-reduction plan. Other contributing factors were the upturn in the global economy, which drove an increase in both volumes carried and freight rates, and the strong commitment of all of the group's teams.
   “To keep pace with the growth in freight volumes, CMA CGM Group is continuing to expand its fleet, taking delivery of six newbuildings in July and August. These included two 13,800-TEU vessels (CMA CGM Amerigo Vespucci and CMA CGM Corte Real) and two 11,400-teu ships (CMA CGM Leo and CMA CGM Pegasus), which represent a strong competitive advantage for the group. New ships have also been chartered in, bringing the total fleet to 394 units, of which 93 are owned,” CMA CGM said.
   Information service Alphaliner said the company has 32 ships with 322,573 TEUs of capacity on order that would boost its carrying capacity of about 1.2 million TEUs by about 28 percent.
   “Nevertheless, competition remains sustained in a still uneven global economy. In the second half, the group will continue to reduce costs in order to optimize its business model and consolidate its growth on reinforced financial bases,” CMA CGM said. It is pursuing discussions with investors “with the objective to reinforce its equity,” the company added.