CMA CGM Group has released its Q1-21 results, reporting a 49% year-on-year increase in revenue and a 227% year-on-year increase in EBITDA. The group reported revenue of $10.7bn in the first quarter of this year, up from $7.2bn in the first quarter of 2020. EBITDA rose from $973m last year to $3.2bn, meaning a 16.2 percentage point increase in the EBITDA margin as well as a 4,229% increase in group share net income from $48m to $2.1bn.
The group carried out accelerated repayments worth $1.7bn some of its loans, including the balance on the state-guaranteed syndicated loan contracted in May 2020. Net debt stood at $15.7bn on March 31, 2021, down $1.2bn from December 31, 2020.
Rodolphe Saadé, Chairman and CEO of the CMA CGM Group, commenting on the results, said the following, “Sustained demand for the transportation of consumer goods is expected to continue throughout the year. CMA CGM will continue to develop its solutions for its customers while maintaining its initiatives in support of the energy transition of the transport and logistics industry.”
Shipping
In the first quarter of 2021, carried volumes were up 10.7% from the first quarter of 2020 to 5.5m TEUs. Shipping revenue stood at $8.6bn, an increase of 57.4% driven by growth in unit revenue per TEU. The EBITDA for shipping was $3bn with the EBITDA margin rising by 34.6%, supported by an average revenue per TEU of $1,574 and good cost control despite congestion issues that generated additional operating costs.
CMA CGM has increased their shipping capacity by 12.9% and increased the size of its fleet by 8.1%, 330,000 TEUs, since the first quarter of 2020, mainly due to the addition of new vessels. Six new 23,000-TEU vessels, powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG), were deployed on March 31, 2021, between Asia and Northern Europe with three more being delivered before the end of 2021.
In April 2021, the group ordered 22 new vessels to be delivered between 2023 and 2024. Those were six LNG-powered 13,000-TEU vessels, six 15,000-TEU vessels also powered by LNG and 10 5,000-TEU vessels powered by very low sulphur fuel oil. The group also confirmed it would be deploying six new LNG-powered 15,000-TEU vessels between China and the US West Coast by the end of 2022, with the first vessel joining the group’s fleet in October 2021. By the end of 2024, the group stated it will operate a fleet of 44 LNG-powered vessels.
Logistics
Logistics revenue totalled $2.1bn in the first quarter of 2021, up 25%. EBITDA reached $172m, a year-on-year increase of 25.5%. EBITDA margin held steady at 8%.
Air Freight
The CMA CGM Group has launched a dedicated airfreight division called CMA CGM Air Cargo. The division, which counts four Airbus A330-200F cargo aircraft, each with a carrying capacity of 60 tonnes and a flight range of nearly 7,500km, began operations on March 13, 2021, with the first flight between Liège and Chicago, followed by the opening of routes to New York and Atlanta.
Source: CMA CGM Group
