Fuel costs hit CMA CGM’s profit although volumes up

CMA CGM’s net income fell by 68% in the third quarter to US$103.1m as higher fuel prices affected unit costs, offsetting a rise in throughput on multiple trades.

Unit costs rose by 7.7% (US$77 per teu), mainly due to the market price of fuel, resulting in an increase of US$55 per teu compared to the third quarter of 2017.

The carrier handled 5.5% more containers year-on-year, exceeding 5m teu over the period while total revenue increased by 6.3% to US$6.06bn.