In 2014, CMA-CGM’s consolidated revenue rose by 5.3 per cent year-on-year to $16.7 billion, and its consolidated net profit rose from $408 million in 2013 to $584 million in 2014. Volumes carried increased by 8.1 per cent to 12.2 million TEUs, while fleet capacity rose from 1.556 million to 1.648 million TEUs.
In particular, volume growth was led by Asia-northern Europe and Asia-North Africa trades, which enjoyed sustained growth. In addition, the reorganization of CMA CGM and Delmas’ Africa lines, combined with the opening of new inland corridors and dry ports, led to volume growth, as did a growing U.S. economy and the expansion of the company’s ANL subsidiary. The Group’s e-business platform, opened in October 2013, handled an impressive 1.3 million TEUs in its first full year of operation.
Signing of the Ocean Three Alliance
In September 2014, a strategic partnership was formed with CSCL (China’s second largest container shipping company) and UASC covering the Asia-Europe/Mediterranean and Transpacific trades. It encompasses 139 vessels, 15 shipping services and 175 weekly stopovers in 87 ports. Following receipt of the necessary authorizations, the agreement was implemented in early 2015. It enables the Group to offer quality service, deploy the right size ships and continue to optimize its unit costs.
Ongoing fleet adjustments
In line with its strategy of continuously improving the efficiency of its fleet, the Group took delivery of its first 9400-class vessels, suitable for the expanded Panama Canal as well as the Bosporus Strait, and equipped with a larger number of reefer plugs. The Group also modified the shape of ten bow bulbs in its owned fleet, thereby further improving bunker fuel efficiency and reducing its carbon footprint. Lastly, in 2014, the Group announced that it had placed an order for three 2,500-TEU ice-class vessels for delivery in 2016.
Increasing the reefer fleet
More than 7,000 reefer containers were delivered in 2014, increasing the fleet to more than 105,000 units to serve a segment that is growing faster than the rest of the market.
For 2015, the company expects the container shipping market to continue to expand by around 5 per cent in volume, led by sustained growth in the U.S. economy and the improving outlook in Europe, albeit with a certain amount of geopolitical uncertainty. CMA CGM’s fleet will be strengthened by the delivery of six new 18,000-TEU vessels (of which three owned), twelve 9,400-TEU class vessels under long-term charter and three Group-owned 2,100-TEU GuyanaMax vessels. These units will support growth in volumes carried, prepare the fleet for the broadening of the Panama Canal and help to improve operating performance, while lowering unit costs whereas freight rates will remain under pressure. The Group is currently finalizing the order of 3 additional newbuilt 20,600 TEU vessels to be delivered in 2017.
In 2015, the Group will also benefit from the deployment of its Ocean Three strategic alliance with CSCL and UASC, as well as from its agreements with Hamburg Süd in South and North America and the consolidation of OPDR (subject to regulatory approval). In addition to its investments in the vessel and container fleets, CMA CGM will continue to expand its port terminals, dry ports and logistics operations.