CMA-CGM, tricolor champion of maritime transport and superprofits.
Taking advantage of the surge in sea freight prices, the Marseille shipowner earned a profit of almost 15 billion euros in the first six months of the year. Enough to bring water to the mill of supporters of a tax on superprofits when EU member countries are due to raise the subject on Friday at 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 champion of maritime transport, earned a net profit of 7.6 billion euros in the second quarter. In just six months, the container transport specialist has already earned almost 15 billion euros, almost as much as in the whole of 2021, a record year for the group.
While many companies are strangled by rising energy prices and individuals are suffering the full effects of inflation, this insolent health is not going well with part of the French public opinion.
CMA-CGM
Since the announcement of these eye-popping 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 households' wallets.a
“We can talk about overprofit here, insofar as you have a price surge that is not related to a technological discovery or a new productive combination. You suddenly have companies that capture wealth and income without their economic contribution being well perceived”" analyzes Jean-Marie Monnier, emeritus professor of economics at the Sorbonne and author of "Let's talk about taxes" (Ed.La Discovery).
Founded 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 Marseille group has made the family business a juggernaut of globalization.
It now has a fleet of 580 ships and employs 150,000 people around the world, making the group the third largest player in the sea freight market behind the Italian-Swiss MSC and the Danish Maersk.
CMA-CGM profits
The exceptional profits of CMA-CGM would have allowed the entire Saadé family to become richer, since it owns 73% of the company's capital. According to Challenges, their fortune has seen a sharp rise 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 taken full advantage of the surge in sea freight prices since the Covid-19 pandemic. The rapid recovery in economic activity has caused a sharp disorganization of logistics chains and caused container transport costs to jump. “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.
If the group is pointed out by some of the political class, it is also because it pays very little taxes in France. Indeed, European shipowners have benefited, since the end of the 80s, from an extremely advantageous tax regime intended to bring out sea freight giants within the European Union.
In 2021, CMA-CGM had already hit the counters with 18 billion in profits but only $ 370 million in taxes worldwide, or barely 2% of its profits, far from the 25% rate to which French companies are normally subject.
For its part, the group is trying to minimize its good fortune, assuring that its activity is cyclical and that the forecasts in the sector are looking uncertain. In a statement, 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 of the price of many raw materials" which "could degrade the economic situation and the growth prospects of world trade".
CMA-CGM company
The company is also multiplying its actions 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 promised to "deploy, over five years, a special energy fund endowed with 1.5 billion euros in order to accelerate the decarbonization of [the group's] activities worldwide”.
If the executive has so far been reluctant to introduce a tax on super profits, the government's speech seems more nuanced in recent days. The minister of the economy, Bruno Le Maire, indicated, on Tuesday, not to bury the idea of a ”participation". Citing the CMA CGM carrier, bankers or insurers, the Minister urged companies "that have the financial opportunity to help households in these difficult circumstances" to do so.
As for the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, he said he was in favor not of a tax, but of a European mechanism to get energy producers and companies that make "undue profits" to put their hands in their pockets. The topic will be part of the discussions at an emergency meeting scheduled for Friday, September 9 in Brussels.
"In the field of taxation, unanimity is required at European level. It is for this reason that it evolves so little quickly. To tax the overprofits of companies, all countries would have to agree except to put in place special arrangements that would allow some States to do it without the others, but this would have the effect of accentuating tax competition in Europe," notes Jean-Marie Monnier.
On the subject, the EU is moving forward for the moment in scattered order. If the Scandinavian countries might be difficult to convince, some Member States such as Italy, Spain or Hungary have already taken the plunge. The UK has also launched a 25% surcharge, but only on hydrocarbon production in the North Sea. Others such as the Netherlands and the Czech Republic are expected to unveil their plans at the end of Friday's meeting. For their part, the European Commission and the UN have positioned themselves in favor of these taxes on windfall profits made by energy companies.
