The Board of Directors of the CMA CGM Group met under the chairmanship of Rodolphe Saadé, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, to review the financial statements for the Third Quarter of 2020.
Rodolphe Saadé, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the CMA CGM Group, commented: “In a favorable market environment for our industry, the Group reported very strong financial and operating performances due to the full commitment of its teams. Our shipping activity has seen a significant increase in volumes transported compared to the second quarter of 2020, and CEVA's transformation plan starts to bear fruit. This crisis has also demonstrated the solidity of our business model and demonstrated the relevance of our strategy, combining logistics solutions with transport offering. In a context of strong demand for the coming months, we will continue to respond with agility to the needs of our customers.”
Business activities and financial performance of the Third Quarter of 2020
The CMA CGM Group demonstrates strength and agility in an unprecedented global context
The third quarter business activities saw a marked recovery in demand for transportation of goods, following the scaling back triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic during the first half of the year. In response to this recovery, the CMA CGM Group stepped up the redeployment of operated capacities during the third quarter, once again demonstrating the agility of its business model and the commitment of its employees.
This increase in volumes transported was due to:
- the pick-up in global economic activity following the easing of various lockdown measures;
- the strong momentum in terms of the consumption of goods to the detriment of services activities, encouraged in some locations by support packages;
- strong e-commerce growth with inventory rebuilding;
- the usual seasonal variation in business activity in preparation for both the September and Christmas peak consumption periods in western countries.
Strong financial indicators for the Group
During the third quarter of 2020, the CMA CGM Group showed great responsiveness to support recovery in the sector. The health crisis has confirmed the relevance of the Group's strategy in terms of the complementarity between logistics solutions and maritime transport.
Group revenue was up by more than 6% during the third quarter of 2020 compared with the third quarter of 2019, reaching a level of USD 8.1 billion.
EBITDA[1] improved markedly to USD 1.7 billion, representing a 68% increase compared with the third quarter of 2019. The EBITDA margin continued to rise, reaching 21.0% (versus 13.3% during the third quarter of 2019). The operating margin reached USD 1.0 billion, i.e., 12.6%, versus USD 332 million (4.4%) for the third quarter of 2019.
During the third quarter of 2020, the CMA CGM Group reports yet another solid improvement in Net Income Group share, with profits of USD 567 million, compared with USD 45 million during the third quarter of 2019 and USD 136 million during the second quarter of 2020.
The Group’s operating performance generated an operating cash flow in excess of USD 1.8 billion, i.e. USD 814 million more than during the third quarter of 2019. The Group’s liquidity stood at USD 2.8 billion on September 30, 2020.
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