Airtours News

for its third quarter ended August 31, 2001, compared to net income of $396.2 million on revenues of $1.23 billion for the same quarter in 2000. same period in 2000. increase in the company's net income from its Costa Cruises subsidiary. results. in Airtours, a European tour operator. Seabourn luxury brands. other.

Carnival Corporation reported net income of $129.6 million on revenues of $905.8 million for its first quarter ended February 28, 2002, compared to net income of $128.0 million ($0.22 EPS) on revenues of $1.0 billion for the same quarter in 2001. Commenting on first quarter results, Carnival Chairman and CEO Micky Arison said he was particularly pleased with the company's first quarter earnings performance, despite the adverse impact on business from the tragic events of September 11. "In the two months following September 11, our advance bookings for 2002 cruises dropped dramatically because of the significant slowdown in travel. The subsequent recovery in our booking levels has greatly exceeded earlier expectations and demonstrates the resiliency of the cruise vacation business…

Kvaerner signed a deal with Costa Crociere - the Italian joint venture of Carnival Corp and Airtours , to build a 86,000-grt cruise ship. The vessel will accommodate 2,100 passengers and will cost more than $500 million to build. The ship will be built in Helsinki to be delivered in 2003. Kvaerner said it will arrange third party financing to cover the major proportion of costs associated with construction. The current order book at its Kvaerner Masa-Yards shipyard in Finland now stands at $2.6 billion.

Carnival Corp., the world's biggest cruise operator, will buy the remaining half of Italian cruise operator Costa Crociere which it does not already own from British travel company Airtours Plc. Carnival said it expected to pay about $525 million in cash for Airtours' stake in Costa, which is headquartered in Genoa. Carnival would own all of Costa and keep a 26 percent "strategic interest" in Airtours, which it acquired in 1996. "The purchase of Airtours' 50 percent interest in Costa is a very important strategic move in the continued development of Carnival Corporation's European business," Micky Arison, Carnival chairman and CEO, said.

As the world's two major cruise lines, Carnival and Royal Caribbean International, wage a continual battle to increase market share and draw additional passengers, the real war is waged in the board rooms of these and all other major cruise companies to increase revenue per passenger and decrease discounting. A record number of new ships and a sluggish North American economy prompting fare cutting, and cruise lines are fighting to maintain buoyant bottom lines. A recent report from Lazard Frères helps to shed some light on the economic strength of the cruise majors. While Lazard Frères is revising its fourth quarter EPS estimate for Carnival Corp.

S.A. that are unconditionally guaranteed by Carnival Corporation. Moody's also confirmed Carnival's A2 and Prime-1 ratings. The rating confirmation reflects Carnival's industry leading market share and margins, the strength of its brands, as well as the risks associated with its shipbuilding program and weakening global economic fundamentals. The rating outlook is stable. Carnival will use the proceeds of this offering to repay bridge financing put in place to consummate the acquisition of the remaining 50 percent interest in Costa Crociere from Airtours plc for $510 million and for working capital purposes. The cruise industry is expected to increase gross capacity by between 12-14 percent per annum through 2004.

Carnival Corporation reported net income of $194.2 million on revenues of $989.2 million for its second quarter ended May 31, 2002, compared to net income of $187 million on revenues of $1.08 billion for the same quarter in 2001. Net income for the six months ended May 31, 2002 was $323.8 million on revenues of $1.89 billion, compared to net income of $314.9 million on revenues of $2.09 billion for the same period in 2001. Earnings for the second quarter of 2002 were reduced by a $9 million loss, including related expenses, on the sale of Holland America Line's Nieuw Amsterdam and by $12 million from cancelled cruises. number of guests purchasing air transportation from the company. partially offset by an increase in cruise capacity of 2.1 percent.

Manpower Software plc (MSW) today announces the award of two contracts for the sale of its Maritime Crew Administration product to Royal Caribbean Cruises Limited (RCCL) and Sun Cruises Limited (SCL), the subsidiary of Airtours plc. These contract awards follow on from the recent sales of MSW's Crew Task Scheduling product to RCCL and the Access Control product, "Souls on Board," to SCL. MSW was also granted two contracts for the sale of its Workforce Planning product to Guinness UDV Limited (part of the Diageo group of companies) and BP Shipping Limited (a division of BP plc). The initial value of the four contracts is in excess of $2.2 million. RCCL has purchased MSW's Maritime Crew Administration product as part of an enterprise-wide program of improvement.

As the world's cruise lines grow exponentially larger and are increasingly falling under the gaze of environmental and regulatory bodies, the push to ensure that ships are run safely, efficiently and environmentally sound gains new importance each day. The world's largest cruise ship company - Carnival Corporation (CCL) - has hooked up with one of the premier builders of marine diesel engines - Wärtsilä NSD - to develop a smokeless diesel-electric propulsion system for cruise ships. Code-named "project enviroengine," prototypes of the new engine are expected to be available later this year for laboratory testing and are expected to be available commercially in 2001. Following successful completion of testing, Carnival plans to utilize those engines on its future newbuilds.

Shares in Britain's largest package tour operator Airtours Plc fell by as much as eight percent on Monday after Carnival Corp said it would sell its 25 percent stake in the company. The stake was worth around 358 million pounds ($514.8 million) at Friday's closing price of 292 pence. Carnival said the strategic reasons for its minority stake in Airtours were "no longer compelling". Airtours said it had agreed to release Carnival from the share lock-up agreement between them. "On the basis that they wanted to pursue their strategy in cruising, we were happy to release them," group chief executive Tim Byrne said. Up to 123.3 million shares will be placed with international institutional investors, with the book expected to close on Thursday.

Carnival Corp said on Tuesday its growing cash holdings were spurring market speculation that the world's largest cruise group was on the acquisitions trail. A spokesman for the Miami-based operator of 45 cruise ships, declined to speak directly to reports that Carnival may be working on a bid for Hapag-Lloyd cruises. "It is our policy not to comment on market rumors," he said. Hapag-Lloyd, a unit of the world's largest travel group Preussag AG, operates five ships in German-speaking countries. A spokesman for Hapag-Lloyd said on Monday he knew of no bid for the company. With pricing pressure in its core North American markets, Carnival has been looking to Europe for growth.

Carnival Corp. on Thursday said fiscal second-quarter profits dropped 8 percent, in line with expectations, as prices for sea vacations remained tepid. $0.34 per share, a year earlier. Industry analysts had forecast that Carnival, whose 45 ships dominate the $12 billion global cruise market, would earn between $0.28 and $0.33, according to a survey of 19 analysts by Thomson Financial/First Call. The analysts' median estimate was $0.30. Revenues were $1.08 billion, up from $875.1 million a year earlier, as Carnival added ships in a massive, sectorwide fleet expansion analysts partly blame for weak cruise ticket pricing. The slowdown in the U.S. economy is also dragging demand for cruises.

As the world’s cruise lines grow exponentially larger and are increasingly falling under the gaze of environmental and regulatory bodies, the push to ensure that ships are run safely, efficiently and environmentally sound gains new importance each day. The world’s largest cruise ship company -- Carnival Corporation (CCL) -- has hooked up with one of the premier builders of marine diesel engines -- Wärtsilä NSD -- to develop a smokeless diesel-electric propulsion system for cruise ships. Code-named "project enviroengine," prototypes of the new engine are expected to be available later this year for laboratory testing and are expected to be available commercially in 2001. Following successful completion of testing, Carnival plans to utilize those engines on its future newbuilds.

Star Cruises Plc has bought the remaining two ships of Airtours' Sun Cruises unit as well as the rights to the Sun Cruises name. The Sun Viva I and Sun Viva II will be renamed MegaStar Sagittarius and MegaStar Capricorn respectively, Star said. It gave no financial details. Star said that following its joint acquisition with U.S. cruise firm Carnival Corp last month of Norway's NCL Holdings for $1.1 billion, it has a fleet of 18 ships and over 21,000 lower berths. By 2004, with the five ships currently on order, Star/NCL will have 23 vessels with about 34,000 lower berths.

Malta Drydocks has won a contract to refit the 34,250-ton Orient Lines luxury cruise liner Crown Odyssey. The ship is to be docked between April 25 and May 4 for what has been described as a "substantial" refit, including pipe works and machinery and an overhaul of propellers, shafts and stabilizers. The Crown Odyssey will be the first cruise liner at Malta Drydocks this year and the first time Orient Lines is sending a vessel to Malta Drydocks, dockyard officials said. The contract was won despite stiff competition from ship repairers in Portugal and Italy. Over the past few years Malta Drydocks carried out work on Cunard's Royal Viking Sun…

Airtours said its Carousel Nassau cruise liner, damaged after hitting rocks while leaving the port of Calica, near Cancun, Mexico, was making its own way to a dry dock in Mobile, Ala. for damage assessment. The vessel was leaving port on Sunday at 0200 local time, on the first day of its cruise, under the control of a local pilot, when a gust of wind caused it to strike rocks, damaging one of its propellers and puncturing a fuel oil tank, the spokesman said. He said no more than seven tons of oil were spilled, the crew contained most of the spill within a boom, and dispersed the oil with a mixture of chemicals and detergents. There have been no reports of pollution from the spill, he added. At the time of the incident there were 924 American, Canadian and British passengers on board.

Interest in the European cruise ship repair market is currently focused on which shipyard will win the $31.3 million contract to repair the 1968-built, 70,327-grt cruiseship Queen Elizabeth II, owned by Cunard Line. There are currently three shipyards shortlisted for the work — Bremerhaven’s Lloyd Werft, Hamburg’s Blohm + Voss Repair and the U.K.’s A&P Southampton. The contract is expected to be awarded soon, with the drydocking dates scheduled for between November 12 and December 11. Now part of the Carnival Cruise Lines (CCL) group, Cunard has also announced the drydocking programs for two other cruiseships in its fleet — the 1973-built…