The following release was published by CMA CGM:
- Further normalization of the transport market.
- Revenue and net income down in line with Q4 2022.
- Strong balance sheet allowing to sustain market tensions with confidence.
The Board of Directors of the CMA CGM Group, a global player in sea, land, air and logistics solutions, met today under the chairmanship of Rodolphe Saadé, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, to review the financial statements for the first quarter of 2023.
Commenting on the results for the period, Rodolphe Saadé, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the CMA CGM Group, said:
"After two exceptional years, our industry has entered a phase of normalization due to the slowdown in global growth, inflation and a destocking phenomenon that is continuing in many parts of the world.
Despite this deteriorated context, our first-quarter results are extremely solid. They are the fruit of our investments - more than USD 30 billion committed over the past two years - which enable us to constantly broaden and strengthen our range of transport and logistics solutions for our customers.”
First-quarter 2023 operating and financial performance
Group: robust performance as the market returns to normal
The fourth-quarter of 2022’s trends remained in play in the first-quarter of 2023, with challenging market conditions in the transport and logistics industry. Freight demand continued to slow, spurring a rapid normalization of spot freight rates.
Revenue stood at USD 12.7 billion in the first quarter of 2023, driven mostly by the Group’s maritime shipping business. EBITDA came to USD 3.4 billion, representing a 61.3% decrease and an EBITDA margin of 27%, down 21.7 points.
Net income, Group share amounted to USD 2.0 billion. Financial resources net of debt totalled USD 6.2 billion on March 31, 2023, up USD 1.5 billion from December 31, 2022.
Shipping
Consolidated revenue from maritime shipping operations amounted to USD 8.9 billion, down 40.3% from first-quarter 2022. EBITDA totalled USD 3,0 billion, 64.3% lower than in first-quarter 2022. EBITDA margin came in at 34.4%, down 23.1 points. Average revenue per TEU amounted to USD 1,766, down 37% from first-quarter 2022.
In all, 5.0 million TEUs were carried in the first quarter of 2023, down 5.3% from the prior-year period. This decline in the first quarter of 2023 is attributable to several factors:
- household consumption of goods in Europe and North America has fallen sharply amid i) price inflation and ii) a rebound in consumer spending on services, especially tourism, leisure, etc.
- inventory adjustments in these regions continued, weighing on imports, especially from Asia, particularly in the retail and lifestyle sectors.
- the relatively brisk activity in regions such as Latin America and Africa, together with eased congestion, were insufficient to offset the decline on the main East-West routes.
Source: CMA CGM