CMA-CGM, tricolor champion of maritime transport and superprofits

by

Taking advantage of soaring maritime freight prices, the Marseille shipowner made a profit of nearly 15 billion euros over the first six months of the year. What bring water to the mill of the supporters of a tax on superprofits while the member countries of the EU must raise the subject Friday during an emergency meeting in Brussels. It is less known to the general public than TotalEnergies and yet it makes more profits than the energy company. CMA-CGM, the tricolor shipping champion, made a net profit of 7.6 billion euros in the second quarter. In just six months, the container transport specialist has already earned nearly 15 billion euros, almost as much as in all of 2021, a record year for the group. While many companies are strangled by the rise in energy prices and that individuals bear the full brunt of the effects of inflation, this insolent health goes down badly with part of French public opinion. Since the announcement of these staggering profits, CMA-CGM has been targeted by left-wing parties who, since the beginning of the summer, have been fighting for the government to introduce exceptional taxation on these profits to relieve household wallets. can speak here of superprofit, insofar as you have a surge in prices that is not linked to a technological discovery or a new productive combination. Suddenly you have companies that capture wealth and income without us really seeing their economic contribution”, analyzes Jean-Marie Monnier, professor emeritus of economics at the Sorbonne and author of “Let’s talk about taxes” (Ed .La Découverte)Giant of globalizationFounded in 1978 by the Lebanese Jacques Saadé, CMA-CGM is now managed by his son, Rodolphe Saadé. Renowned for his great discretion, the boss of the Marseilles group has made the family business a behemoth of globalization. It now has a fleet of 580 ships and employs 150,000 people around the world, which makes the group the third player in the maritime freight market behind the Italian-Swiss MSC and the Danish Maersk.>> Energy, superprofits and labor shortages: an eco-return on the wheel hatsThe exceptional profits of CMA-CGM would have enabled the whole Saadé family to get rich, since it holds 73% of the company’s capital. According to Challenges, their fortunes have risen sharply in 2022, propelling them from 19th to 5th place in the magazine’s latest ranking with 36 billion euros. Like other European shipowners, CMA-CGM has benefited full of soaring sea freight prices since the Covid-19 pandemic. The flash recovery in economic activity has caused a major disruption of logistics chains and has boosted the cost of container transport. “The pandemic has disrupted international trade and there is a very strong demand for the transport of goods while the supply is reduced and therefore prices and margins are soaring“, recalls Jean-Marie Monnier. Specific tax regime If the group is singled out by part of the political class, it is also because he pays very little tax in France. Indeed, European shipowners have benefited, since the end of the 1980s, from an extremely advantageous tax regime intended to bring about the emergence of maritime freight giants within the European Union. In 2021, CMA-CGM had already panicked the counters with 18 billion in profits but only 370 million dollars in taxes worldwide, barely 2% of its profits, far from the rate of 25% to which French companies are normally subject. For its part, the group is trying to minimize its good fortune, ensuring that its business is cyclical and that the forecasts in the sector are looking uncertain. In a press release, CMA CGM said it was “particularly attentive to the evolution of the current geopolitical situation”, referring to “the sharp rise in the cost of energy, combined with the inflation in the price of many raw materials” which “ could deteriorate the economic situation and the prospects for growth in world trade”. The company is also multiplying its gestures to demonstrate its concern for the general interest. To support the purchasing power of households, CMA-CGM has been offering, especially since this summer, preferential rates for its French customers. Rodolphe Saadé has also just announced that he is making efforts for the planet and has promised to “deploy, over five years, a special energy fund endowed with 1.5 billion euros in order to accelerate the decarbonization of activities. [du groupe] worldwide”. Towards a European contribution? If the executive has shown itself reluctant until now to the idea of ​​introducing a tax on super profits, the government’s discourse seems more nuanced in recent days. The Minister of the Economy, Bruno Le Maire, indicated on Tuesday that he would not bury the idea of ​​“participation”. Citing the carrier CMA CGM, bankers or insurers, the Minister encouraged companies “which have the financial possibility of helping households in these difficult circumstances” to do so. As for the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, he s is said to be in favor not of a tax, but of a European mechanism to bring energy producers and companies that make “undue profits” to pay their way. The subject will be part of the discussions at an emergency meeting scheduled for Friday, September 9 in Brussels. >> To see: In the euro zone, the ECB is tightening the screws in the face of record inflation “In the field of taxation, the unanimity is required at European level. This is why it is changing so slowly. To tax the excess profits of companies, all the countries would have to agree except to put in place specific measures that would allow certain States to do so without others, but this would have the effect of accentuating tax competition in Europe”, notes Jean-Marie Monnier. On the subject, the EU is for the moment moving forward in a dispersed order. If the Scandinavian countries could prove difficult to convince, some Member States such as Italy, Spain or Hungary have already taken the plunge. The United Kingdom has also launched a 25% surcharge, but only on the production of hydrocarbons at sea of the North. Others like the Pay Netherlands and the Czech Republic are expected to unveil their plans after Friday’s meeting. For their part, the European Commission and the UN have positioned themselves in favor of these taxes on the exceptional profits made by energy companies.