Monday, November 2, 2009

NOL and COSCO 3Qs Down, CMA-CGM's CEO Denies Ouster Report

In ocean carrier news, Singapore-based Neptune Orient Line and Tianjin, China-based China COSCO posted losing third-quarters last week while the CEO of French carrier CMA-CGM denied press reports that creditors were demanding his ouster.

NOL posted a 29 percent drop in average container rates in the third-quarter compared to the year-ago period and predicted "significant losses" through at least the first half of 2010. In posting its fourth quarterly loss in a row, NOL reported a net loss in the third-quarter of $138.9 million compared to a $35 million profit in the year-ago period.

China COSCO posted a $101 million third quarter net loss compared to a $814 million profit from the same period in 2008.

Both COSCO and NOL reported container volumes dipped about 6 percent during the third quarter compared to the year-ago period.

In Europe, CMA-CGM founding CEO Jacques Saadé denied media reports that creditors want him gone before they will move forward with restructuring the privately-held carrier's $5.6 billion in debt.
“I can’t imagine that any of our financial partners would try to take advantage of this period,” SaadĂ© told Bloomberg, adding that CMA-CGM expects to move into the black “in coming months.”