The Board of Directors of France’s CMA CGM Group, a leading worldwide container shipping company, met under the chairmanship of Jacques R. Saadé, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, to review the financial statements for the third quarter of 2016, the company said in its press release.
Volumes carried by CMA CGM amounted to TEU 4.5 million, an increase of nearly 36% thanks to the integration of NOL. Excluding NOL, volumes totalled 3.2 million TEUs in third-quarter 2016, down 2.7% year-on-year. The slight contraction is attributable to the Group's strategy of focusing on high contribution freight.
In a market environment shaped by continued pressure on freight rates, average revenue per TEU, excluding NOL, was down 13.9% from third-quarter 2015 but up 3.8% on second-quarter 2016, bringing an end to a downward trend that had lasted for more than a year.
As a result, revenue amounted to USD4.47 billion, an increase of nearly 34%.
The Group kept a tight rein on costs, helping to drive a year-on-year reduction in unit costs of 9.7%, excluding NOL, thanks to the combined impact of lower bunker prices and disciplined expense management.
Core EBIT margin stood at a loss of 1.9%, representing a slight improvement on the negative 2.3% reported in the second quarter of 2016.
CMA CGM's operating performance, although unsatisfactory, was among the most resilient in the industry thanks to operating discipline, which notably involves keeping a tight rein on costs and being selective about the freight carried.