Second-quarter 2022 financial results: Accelerated strategic development, driven by the Group’s strong financial performance

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 second quarter of 2022.

Commenting on the results for the period, Rodolphe Saadé, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the CMA CGM Group, said:

“During the second quarter, we continued to accelerate our strategy and our transformation around our two pillars: shipping and logistics. With the acquisitions of Ingram Micro CLS, Colis Privé and GEFCO and the strategic partnership with Air France-KLM, we have reached a new milestone in offering our customers a service that spans the entire supply chain.

I would like to thank our 150,000 employees for their exceptional achievements and unfailing dedication.

The global decline in consumer spending, which was already perceptible this summer, will lead to more normal international trade conditions in the second half as well as to a downturn in shipping demand. We will continue to invest both in our development and in the energy transition, which is more important than ever.”

The second quarter of 2022 continued to be impacted by intense pressure on global supply chains and acute geopolitical tensions.

To meet its customers’ needs in this environment, the CMA CGM Group continued to invest in programs to strengthen its shipping, port, logistics and air freight capabilities.

A full 90% of consolidated profits have been reinvested to prepare for new growth in the years ahead and to address environmental challenges. The CMA CGM Group has undertaken strategic investments to increase its maritime shipping capacity (vessels and equipment) and to develop a comprehensive, consistent portfolio of logistics solutions. These outlays will enable CMA CGM to offer integrated, end-to-end solutions and to improve the quality of customer service, while accelerating the Group’s energy transition.

The Group has been impacted by the unstable geopolitical situation, in particular with an increase in unit bunker costs driven by increased in energy prices. On a like-for-like consumption basis, these higher energy prices led to a USD 1.1 billion year-on-year increase in fuel costs in the first half of 2022.

The persistently strong pressure exerted on global supply chains since the beginning of the year is continuing to impact both effective capacity in the global fleet and the Group’s operations. Widespread port congestion is impacting the quality of service, thereby limiting the volumes carried by the ocean-going fleet and spurring a significant increase in operating costs (chartering, additional port handling costs, labor costs, etc.).

The CMA CGM Group is committed to meeting the needs of its customers across their supply chains. The first half of 2022 saw three strategic acquisitions that have strengthened the capabilities of CMA CGM Group subsidiary, CEVA Logistics:

• Ingram Micro’s Commerce & Lifecycle Services business, which provides end-to-end e-commerce logistics solutions, including warehousing, inventory management, shipping and returns. The acquisition was completed on April 4, 2022, for an amount of USD 2.9 billion.
• Colis Privé, a leading last-mile logistics provider, specializing in home and pick-up point delivery in France, Belgium and Luxembourg. The acquisition was completed on April 7, 2022.
• Further to an agreement signed on April 8, 2022, the Group’s acquisition of GEFCO was approved by European anti-trust authorities in July. As a European leader in contract logistics, specialized in finished vehicle shipping and other automotive logistics, GEFCO plays a key role in maintaining production line integrity across the European automotive industry.

CMA CGM Air Cargo: a major long-term strategic partnership with Air France-KLM

In line with its commitment to making CMA CGM Air Cargo a French air freight carrier, the Group obtained its Air Operator Certificate (AOC) from the French Civil Aviation Authority on June 1, 2022. Following the delivery of two Boeing 777Fs and the hiring of around 50 pilots, CMA CGM Air Cargo began operating in early June from its new base at Paris Charles-de-Gaulle airport.

The Group is supporting the growth of CMA CGM Air Cargo by investing in its fleet, which will be composed of 12 aircraft by 2026. Of these, 10 will be operated by the CMA CGM Group and two by Air France-KLM.

In May 2022, CMA CGM signed a long-term strategic air freight partnership with Air France-KLM. The exclusive partnership[1] will enable the parties to jointly market their air cargo networks, full-freighter capacity and dedicated services to build an increasingly competitive array of solutions, backed by to the expertise and global footprint of Air France-KLM and CMA CGM.

CMA CGM acquired a 9% stake in Air France-KLM for €396 million, making it the airline’s largest private shareholder. In addition, at their annual meeting Air France-KLM shareholders elected Rodolphe Saadé to the Board of Directors.

Space: partnerships with space industry leaders

In recent years, CMA CGM has been exploring ways to identify, design and develop innovative solutions to support maritime shipping and logistics, with a focus on satellite and space-based connectivity. As part of this process, the Group has formed partnerships with space industry leaders, such as France’s National Centre for Space Studies (CNES) in June 2021 and Thales Alenia Space in November 2021. More recently, CMA CGM acquired a stake in the Eutelsat Group, to pursue the process and develop innovative solutions.

The CMA CGM Group is committed to achieving Net Zero Carbon by 2050 and intends to accelerate the energy transition in shipping and logistics, led by an enhanced energy mix.

This ambitious objective is being supported by results-oriented decisions and commitments:

• Banning plastic waste cargo on Group ships since June 1, 2022, in line with the announcement made by Rodolphe Saadé at the One Ocean Summit.
• Partnering with Engie on the Salamandre project, launched on June 30 to produce 11,000 tonnes a year of second-generation biomethane, with the shared goal of ramping up annual output to 200,000 tonnes of renewable gas worldwide by 2028, to serve the needs of CMA CGM and the entire shipping industry.
• Partnering with the Jupiter 1000 project, France’s first power-to-gas industrial demonstrator for the production of hydrogen and e-methane, based in Fos-sur-Mer. The partnership will speed the development of the synthetic methane production industry, to supply a low-carbon fuel for CMA CGM Group vessels.
• Hosting one of the two sites of the French Maritime Institute for Decarbonation, founded by the French Maritime Cluster, at Tangram, the CMA CGM Group’s innovation and training center due to open in Marseille in 2023.
• On June 27, 2022, CMA CGM was awarded the Surfrider Foundation's "Green Marine Europe" label, the first voluntary environmental certification program for the European shipping industry.

[1] The transaction remains subject to the usual regulatory approvals.

Group: robust performance and a stronger balance sheet

Revenue stood at USD 19.5 billion in the second quarter of 2022, mostly driven by the Group’s maritime shipping business.

EBITDA came to USD 9.6 billion, representing an EBITDA margin of 49.2%.

The Group continued to strengthen its balance sheet, supported by its operating performance. Net debt totaled USD 5.4 billion on June 30, 2022 (after accounting for current financial investments), down USD 1.5 billion from March 31, 2022.

Maritime shipping: higher revenue and wider margins.

5.6 million TEUs were carried in the second quarter of 2022, down 1.3% from the prior-year period. Volume growth is currently being dampened by the congestion in ports and overland supply chains, which has led to longer vessel transit times.

Revenue from the maritime shipping operations amounted to USD 16.0 billion.

EBITDA rose sharply to USD 9.1 billion for the period, led by the USD 2,850 in average revenue per TEU at a time of rising operating costs (particularly bunker, vessel chartering and port handling costs). In all, operating costs increased by more than 22% year-on-year, with unit bunker costs in particular surging almost 75% over the period.

Logistics: sustained improvement in financial performance

Revenue from logistics operations totaled USD 3.8 billion in the second quarter of the year, while EBITDA came to USD 340 million.

Growth was primarily driven by the maritime and air freight management activities. The contract logistics business continued to recover. Dynamic business performance in e-commerce and other Consumer & Retail segments enabled CEVA logistics to mitigate the adverse impact of the inflationary environment, which is weighing on operations and margins.

CEVA’s second-quarter revenue growth was also lifted by the acquisitions of Ingram Micro CLS and Colis Privé, which were completed in early April 2022. Ingram Micro CLS and Colis Privé contributed USD 375 million and USD 64 million respectively to Logistics revenue for the period.

Inflationary pressures and uncertainties weighing on world trade

The health crisis, the release of pent-up demand as lockdowns eased and the conflict in Ukraine have placed unprecedented strain on the world’s supply chains. The persistence of this acute pressure has impacted both effective capacity in the global fleet and the Group’s operations since the beginning of the year. Widespread port congestion is impacting quality of service, thereby limiting the volumes carried by the ocean-going fleet.

The Group is closely monitoring developments in the current geopolitical situation and their consequences for the economic outlook. The sharp increase in energy costs, combined with rising commodity prices, is weighing on consumer spending and could have a negative impact on the economic situation and the outlook for growth in world trade.

In recent weeks, inflationary pressures have caused a slowdown in consumer spending and therefore a softening in demand for maritime shipping. In some regions, these developments have led to a decline in spot freight rates.