CSAV Loses $340.3 Million, Denies Sales Plan

CSAV posted a net loss of $340.3 million in the third quarter, reversing a $151.8 million profit a year earlier, and the Chilean carrier denied reports that its container shipping business is for sale.

The company said it is continuing to pursue a restructuring that “involves the search for a strategic partner for our container business, but not the finding (of) a buyer for that business unit.”

CSAV posted a third quarter loss from continuing operations of $301.8 million, compared with a profit of $151.9 million a year earlier.  Third quarter revenue fell 13.2 percent to $1.4 billion. Through the first nine months of the year, revenue rose 6.3 percent to $4.35 billion.

The latest losses brought the company’s net loss for the first nine months of the year to $859.5 million, compared with a $188.7 million net profit a year earlier.

CSAV has ridden a financial roller coaster in recent years. The line underwent a financial rescue in 2009, and then embarked on a rapid expansion that vaulted it into the top 10 lines in global capacity, only to retrench after heavy losses. CSAV has suspended several services and entered joint services with other carriers.

Earlier this year the company received a $1.2 billion capital injection through the issuance of new stock. The carrier also unveiled a new corporate structure that split CSAV’s container shipping line from its ports, tugboat and shipping services unit, SAAM, “with the objective of propelling the growth of the latter.”

CSAV this month announced plans for a joint venture between SAAM and Boskalis, the Dutch dredging and marine services group, for a towage operation in Central and South America.

-- Contact Joseph Bonney at jbonney@joc.com. Follow him on Twitter @josephbonney.