Oriental Steam Navigation Co News

Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Co., the world's third largest cruise company, reportedly ordered five more ships at a cost of $2 billion to meet the surge in popularity for sea cruises.

Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co.’ cruises division saw a continuation in the second quarter of the strongly positive trend shown in the earlier part of the year.

Slovenian shipping firm Intereuropa and port operator Luka Koper canceled a planned merger because the government was demanding the right to veto any management decisions in the new firm. The two companies had planned to merge on July 1. The state owns 51 percent of Luka, while Intereuropa is privately owned. The state's equity in the new company would have been 35.7 percent. "There will be no merger under such conditions where the government would have the right to veto practically every management decision," Radovan Vrabec, Intereuropa's deputy chief executive, said. He said the two companies would be ready to continue merger talks if the government eased its demands. Vrabec said the two firms would not suffer short-term damage due to the failure of the merger.

An initial public offering of Associated Bulk Carriers on the Oslo stock exchange is expected to take place later this year, Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co. officials said. P&O said it bought the 50 percent shareholding of joint venture partners Shougang Holding (Hong Kong) Ltd. and Shougang Concord International Enterprises Company Ltd. for a nominal sum, and would hold 100 percent of ABC until the IPO, when it will sell the majority of its holding. ABC is one of the world's largest independently owned operators of Capesize bulk carriers with a fleet consisting of 22 dry cargo vessels ranging in size from 110,000 to 210,000 dwt with an average age of seven years, P&O said.

Shares in shipping operator Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Co. moved to full speed ahead March 23, tracking a recovery course by U.S. cruise giant Carnival Corp., analysts said. P&O shares, which slid from $16.47 at the beginning of the year to touch a low of 586 pence on March 17, were among the strongest performers in the FTSE 100, up 48-1/2 pence or eight percent at 648p.. More than 3.2 million shares traded by this time. P&O shares have underperformed the FTSE 100 index by as much as 38 percent on the year, but that pales to insignificance when placed alongside Carnival's share slump. The world's largest cruise operator is down 50 percent against the S&P 500 index on the year, having sunk to an 18-month low of $21-3/16 on March 17.

Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co. decided to withdraw the secondary listing of its deferred stock from the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong at the close of May 8. "The company's reason for withdrawing its listing on the stock exchange is due to the small number of stockholders using this listing facility and the low volume of trading in the deferred stock on the stock exchange," the company said. It said there was an aggregate nominal value of 1,663 pounds, representing less than 0.0003 percent of the deferred stock of the company, listed on the stock exchange as of March 15. The number of stockholders registered on the Hong Kong Register at that time was five.

P&O's ongoing return to its maritime roots continued Thursday with the acquisition of European cruise firm Festival in a deal worth up to $400 million. Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co. chairman Jeffrey Sterling said privately held Festival is a dynamic business with a strong brand name and reputation. P&O said Festival would be developed as an independent brand and would continue to be run by current CEO George Poulides.

Shares in British shipping company P&O sank on Friday after the group warned that additional capacity and a competitive U.S. market would hit revenue yields for its cruise sector, which it plans to spin off as a separate company in October. The group failed to reassure the market with news that its cruising division, P&O Princess, boosted its operating profit by four percent to $60.4 million in the first quarter of 2000. By mid-morning, the company's shares had slid 12 percent. Analysts said they were preparing to cut profit forecasts, after the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co. said its net revenue yields were likely to be lower in 2000 than in 1999. Others said although they would follow suit, the group's underlying business remained strong.

The Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co. (P&O) and Festival Cruises have agreed, subject to contract, to join together in the expansion of the global cruise business. Festival will join P&O Cruises, Princess Cruises and Germany's Aida Cruises, positioning it as the world's most international cruise company. Included in the merger is Festival's existing fleet of four vessels, a newbuilding program, which is currently underway in France and its pan-European sales and marketing network of subsidiaries in 10 countries. P&O is expected to merge with Festival through a mixture of cash and shares, which will depend partly on future results. With strong profits, this would have a value of up to $400 million.

Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co. (P&O) expects its Associated Bulk Carriers unit to carry a price tag of around $190 million when it floats on the Oslo Stock Exchange in July. Shares in ABC, one of the world's largest independently owned operators of Capesize bulk carriers, will be priced at between 40 and 65 Norwegian crowns, according to the prospectus for the issue. Peter Smith, P&O director of corporate affairs, said ABC's relatively young fleet means it could use its newfound currency of shares to seek out potential acquisitions in a shipping industry ripe for consolidation. "There isn't a need for them to invest heavily, so they have the strength now to go out and make the most of their market-leading position," he said.

Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Co. is indefinitely postponing the planned flotation of its Associated Bulk Carriers (ABC) unit because of stock market conditions. Shares in the business would have been listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange in an initial public offering next month, valuing it at around $187.9 million. But the group said in a statement it had decided not to go ahead with the flotation for the time being, because of market conditions in Oslo. he decision reversed P&O's plans to bring the float forward on the back of a recovery of the bulk shipping market, which has been depressed over past two to three years. ABC is one of the world's largest independently owned operators of Capesize bulk carriers and has a fleet of 22 dry cargo vessels ranging in size from 110…

Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co.'s Sri Lanka unit reported a sharp increase in container handling in its first year of operation to August 2000. "In just 12 months, productivity levels have doubled and South Asia Gateway Terminal Pvt Ltd (SAGT) has handled 261,787 20-foot equivalent units.... a 40,682 teu increase over the year before period," SAGT said. "... SAGT is 52.5 percent owned by units of Britain's P&O and Sri Lankan conglomerate John Keells Holdings Ltd. SAGT last September took possession of the Colombo port's Queen Elizabeth Quay in a $240 million deal for a new breakwater. It also agreed to build a new passenger terminal. The group plans to raise annual handling capacity to 1.1 million containers in 2003.

P&O Nedlloyd Container Line Ltd. posted its best-ever second quarter results on Thursday. The group said profits before tax were $28 million, a $60 million improvement on a $32 million loss notched up for the same period last year. P & O Nedlloyd attributed the solid performance, achieved despite high fuel costs, to growing volume and cost savings. Volume during the second quarter was the greatest ever achieved by the group, a 50-50 joint venture between Dutch Koninklijke Nedlloyd Groep NV and Britain's Peninular & Oriental Steam Navigation Co, since it started trading in 1997. P & O Nedlloyd said annualized savings, currently running at around $60 million, would comfortably hit a target of $100 million by the end of this year and $180 million by the end of 2001.

Shares in Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Co. surged five percent on Wednesday as a positive newspaper report on the shipping sector highlighted better prospects for the firm. The stock was buoyed by a front page article in the Financial Times saying shipping rates had hit 30-year highs on the back of expanding world trade, rising oil demand and the withdrawal of substandard vessels because of safety fears.

Shipping company P&O, reporting its first-half results, said on Tuesday it was to boost its presence in the German cruise sector by buying the remaining 49 percent of Aida Cruises for 115 million marks ($49.9 million). Peninsula & Oriental Steam Navigation Co. said that it would combine Aida Cruises with its Seetours International Ltd unit, to create a company accounting for around 20 percent of the German cruise sector by number of passengers. "We have two of the best consumer cruising brands and will be in a strong position to exploit the huge potential of the German market," P&O chairman Lord Sterling said in a statement. Meanwhile, the company posted a slight rise in first half pre-tax profit on Tuesday, and said the demerger of its cruise business was proceeding according to schedule.

UK shipping company Peninsula & Oriental Steam Navigation Co Plc said on Thursday its 50 percent owned P&O Nedlloyd joint venture had shown a big jump in third quarter operating profits and the outlook was positive. P&O Nedlloyd's operating profits were $75 million, up $59 million from the third quarter of 1999. P&O also said its P&O Stena Line achieved headline profits of 19.8 million pounds in the third quarter of 2000, up from 14.6 million in the same period of last year.

UK shipping firm Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Co on Wednesday said it had joined forces with its 50 percent owned P&O Nedlloyd to operate the New York/New Jersey terminal on a 30-year lease. The first phase of development at the Port Newark container terminal in New Jersey, across the water from New York City, which is the largest port on the North American east coast, would cost $150 million. The development program is scheduled to begin in December and be substantially completed by end-2001.

The big cruise lines have been steadily filling their rapidly expanding fleets with passengers looking to escape an especially harsh North American winter, but as they get ready to release quarterly results, Wall Street is worried that ticket prices may not be high enough. Analysts are expecting profit declines for the winter quarter from the top three cruise lines, starting with industry leader Carnival Corp., which plans to release its fiscal first-quarter results on Wednesday (March 21, 2001). Cruise stocks, including those of Royal Caribbean, the world's No. 2 operator, and Britain's P&O Princess Cruises, which ranks third, have in recent weeks given up much of their bounce back gains after a sustained decline last year.

Britain's Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co (P&O) shrugged off higher fuel costs and fears of a downturn in the United States to beat forecasts with a 12 percent rise in profits. P&O, which last year shed its cruise liner division to concentrate on its core ports, container shipping and ferry businesses, announced pre-tax profits before exceptionals of 269 million pounds ($390 million). "These results are considerably better than what the market would have hoped for, despite last year's increase in oil prices," chairman Lord Sterling said. "We are cautious regarding the U.S. Sterling said the company was particularly pleased with the performance of P&O Nedlloyd…

Last Monday, a $6.8 billion dollar deal put the operation and control of the major New York and New Jersey ports in the control of a firm in the United Arab Emirates and owned by the Government of Dubai, Dubai Ports World. Today, Senators Chuck Schumer, Tom Coburn, Frank Lautenberg, and Chris Dodd are being joined by Reps. Chris Shays, Vito Fossella and Mark Foley in sending a letter to Treasury Secretary John Snow urging him to review the deal immediately. The deal allows the UAE company to take control of most operations at six ports on the East Coast, including: New York, New Jersey, Baltimore, New Orleans, Miami and Philadelphia.

According to reports, Dubai's royal family sent a delegation to the U.S. today to meet officials such as Senator Hillary Clinton to allay concerns about the emirate's purchase of six U.S. ports as part of its buyout of Peninsula & Oriental Steam Navigation Co. Sultan bin Sulayem, chairman of the state-owned DP World, is heading the team will discuss Dubai's management of P&O operations in the U.S., which include the ports of New York and Baltimore, official said. Democratic Senators Robert Menendez of New Jersey and Hillary Clinton of New York are seeking to prohibit companies owned or controlled by foreign governments from buying U.S. port operations. A bipartisan group of U.S.

Reports indicate that Dubai Ports World, a state-owned international port operator, cleared its last major hurdle yesterday in acquiring a British company that helps run several U.S. terminals the companies said yesterday. The acquisition of Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Co., whose shareholders agreed yesterday to accept Dubai Ports World's offer of 3.9 billion pounds, or $6.8 billion, in cash, would create the world's third-largest port operator, with 51 terminals in 30 countries. It will also give the aggressive Dubai a larger foothold in the booming trade between Asia and the United States. P&O officials have said they expect the company to be run separately out of London and do not expect changes in U.S.

The AP has reported that a company in the United Arab Emirates is poised to take over significant operations at six American ports as part of a corporate sale, leaving a country with ties to the Sept. 11, 2001, hijackers with influence over a maritime industry considered vulnerable to terrorism. The Bush administration considers the UAE an important ally in the fight against terrorism since the suicide hijackings and is not objecting to Dubai Ports World's purchase of London-based Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co. The $6.8 billion sale could be approved Monday and would affect commercial port operations in New York, New Jersey, Baltimore, New Orleans, Miami and Philadelphia. DP World said it won approval from a secretive U.S.