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 2025.
Commenting on the results for the period, Rodolphe Saadé, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the CMA CGM Group, said:
“In a context marked by persistent geopolitical tensions and renewed trade uncertainties, our Group is delivering a stable performance, driven by the resilience of its maritime activities. These results also highlight the relevance of our diversification strategy across terminals, logistics and air freight, which enables us to offer global solutions and adjust our operations more swiftly to shifts in global trade. In line with our strategic direction, we continue to invest in our industrial assets, strengthen our presence in key markets, and transform our businesses through artificial intelligence and the energy transition, with the aim of providing our customers with high-quality service around the world.”
Second quarter 2025 highlights
In an unstable geopolitical context and an uncertain market environment, the CMA CGM Group recorded a slightly lower operating margin in the second quarter of 2025 compared to the second quarter of 2024. This period was marked by several major events for the Group:
Maritime shipping and terminals
CMA CGM continued its development both nationally and internationally, in countries that are strategic for the Group:
- France / Lyon: CMA CGM launched its logistics and inland waterway transport operations at the Port of Lyon Edouard Herriot, as part of the sub-concession awarded to the Group for the container terminal.
- India: The CMA CGM Vitoria, the Group’s first vessel under the Indian flag, called at the Nhava Sheva Free Port terminal.
- Vietnam: In May, CMA CGM entered a partnership with Saigon Newport to develop a new deep-water terminal in Hai Phong, northern Vietnam. At the same time, the Group initiated a project for a 100% electric container barge, supported by a solar-powered charging infrastructure at Cai Mep port, the main container hub in southern Vietnam.
- Egypt: In early April, CMA CGM acquired a 35% stake in the October Dry Port terminal, a logistics and rail platform, and will also oversee its operational management.
- Brazil: CMA CGM took a 51% controlling stake in Santos Brasil, a multi-terminal Brazilian operator and owner of the largest container port terminal in South America.
Logistics
CEVA Logistics, the logistics subsidiary of the CMA CGM Group, continues its growth trajectory:
- Turkey: In April, CEVA Logistics signed a memorandum of understanding to acquire the logistics operator Borusan Tedarik, aiming to accelerate its development and strengthen its position in the Turkish market.
- Cameroon: A new logistics base is under construction in the port area of Kribi and will offer 25,000 m² of storage for import-export containers starting in September 2025.
- Car carrier fleet: CEVA Logistics announced the expansion of its global automotive shipping operations, supported by two new roll-on/roll-off (RORO) vessels with capacities ranging from 5,500 to 7,000 car equivalent units (CEU).
Decarbonization
Decarbonization is more than ever at the heart of the Group’s strategy and is reflected through human, financial, and operational commitments to achieve Net Zero Carbon across all activities by 2050:
- A new generation of 8,000 TEU dual-fuel vessels flying the French flag and powered by LNG has entered the fleet in recent months: CMA CGM Byblos, Petra, Baalbeck, and Palmyre, to be joined by CMA CGM Taormina and Syracuse by fall.
- Deployment of the first three 13,000 TEU methanol-powered vessels: CMA CGM Argon, Iron, and Cobalt.
- Entry into service of two 23,000 TEU LNG-powered vessels: CMA CGM Seine and Saint Germain.
- By 2029, the CMA CGM Group’s dual-fuel fleet will include at least 162 vessels, including 24 methanol-powered, all designed to run on low-carbon fuels such as bio-methane, e-methane, and green methanol.
- Launch of a joint venture between CMA CGM and TotalEnergies for LNG bunkering in Rotterdam: an LNG bunker vessel with a capacity of 20,000 m³ will join the fleet by 2028, marking the first collaboration between a shipping company and an energy provider to jointly develop and operate LNG bunkering infrastructure — a key step toward accelerating the sector’s decarbonization.
Other activities
- Air freight: At the end of April, the CMA CGM Group announced the takeover of the cargo operations of Air Belgium, a Belgian airline, strengthening its position in the air freight market.
- Artificial intelligence: Thanks to a 100% French partnership, the CMA CGM Group will benefit from tailor-made AI solutions developed by Mistral AI for its shipping, logistics, and media activities.
- Innovation and training: CMA CGM celebrated the first anniversary of TANGRAM, its training and innovation center based in Marseille, and participated for the third consecutive year in the Vivatech trade show in Paris.
- Media: The CMA Media division continued its development. RMC BFM saw its TV audience improve on the commercial target and announced plans to acquire the Chérie 25 channel. La Provence also announced the launch of MAX, a technological innovation allowing articles to be listened to using AI. More recently, CMA Media announced it had entered exclusive negotiations to acquire BRUT, a leading digital media outlet and the top European media on TikTok and Instagram.
Second quarter 2025 operating and financial performance
CMA CGM Group: A Resilient Performance
The first half of 2025 was heavily marked by geopolitical conflicts and trade tensions, particularly between the United States and its main trading partners. In this complex environment for global trade, the Group posted an overall stable performance in the second quarter, with a slowdown in maritime activity. Disruptions related to the situation in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden are ongoing and continue to pose significant operational challenges.
In the second quarter of 2025, revenue amounted to USD 13.2 billion, in line with the second quarter of 2024. EBITDA reached 2.3 billion dollars, representing a limited decrease of 7.9% compared to the previous year. The margin stood at 17.3%, down 1.5 percentage points.
Shipping
CMA CGM transported 6.0 million TEUs in the second quarter of 2025, in line with the previous year despite a volatile market environment. The near-stability in volumes comes in a context of a sharp but temporary decline in trade flows between China and the United States during the period, highlighting the Group’s ability to redeploy its assets to capture demand wherever it arises. The breadth and diversification of CMA CGM’s maritime operations, marked by a strong presence across all major global trade lanes, enable the Group to adapt with agility to shifts in market conditions and customer demand.
The Group’s maritime activity generated revenue of USD 8.2 billion in the second quarter, down 1.5% compared to the same period in 2024. EBITDA stood at USD 1.6 billion, representing a 19.9% decrease compared to the second quarter of 2024. The margin came in at 19.4%, down 4.5 percentage points. The average revenue per TEU amounted to USD 1,367, a decrease of 1.2% compared to the same period in 2024.
Logistics
In the second quarter, the Group’s logistics activities also showed an improvement in EBITDA margin despite a slight decline in revenue, driven by strong momentum in contract logistics operations. Challenges in the automotive market weighed on the performance of finished vehicle logistics and road transport activities, particularly in Europe.
Logistics activity revenue amounted to USD 4.6 billion. EBITDA reached USD 459 million, representing an increase of 2.0% compared to the first quarter of 2024. The margin stood at 9.9%, up 0.5 percentage point.
Other activities
Revenue from other activities (port terminals, CMA CGM AIR CARGO, CMA Media, etc.) rose by 62.7% to USD 1 billion, driven by the integration of Santos Brasil. EBITDA reached USD 239 million, compared to USD 51 million in the second quarter of 2024. The margin stood at 23.0%, up 15 percentage points.