Sea Freight

CMA CGM Profits Crash

French shipping line giant sees disastrous Q2

TLME News Service

CMA CGM, one of the worlds largest shipping lines, has seen its Q2 profits fall by almost 86% year on year, despite a growth in TEU volume.

The French liner has outlined fuel costs as a major contributing issue to the drop in profits.

However, despite rising fuel costs, the liner has also seen drops in profits due to outlays it has made in investing in other shipping companies.

Most notably, it acquired a 25% stake in CEVA Logistics earlier in 2018.

CMA CGM Gets Green Light in CEVA Investment

Rodolphe Saade, CEO of CMA CGM, said in a statement: "Over the second quarter CMA CGM has recorded a core EBIT margin close to the first quarter as well as a positive net income in spite of a sharp increase in fuel prices.

“The strong volume growth demonstrates our commercial strength and the quality of our service offering.

“The acquisition of a 25% stake in CEVA is an important step in our strategy to complement our transport offering with logistics services.

“We are confident for the second half of the year [and] we anticipate an improved operating margin thanks to the rise in freight rates and sustained volumes.”

Read more: CMA CGM Founder Dies at 81