Oriental Steam Navigation Company News

P&O Princess Cruises plc and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. have agreed to merge their companies in a deal approaching $6 billion, a move that will effectively create the world's largest cruise vacation group. The merger, spurred by an already softening economy and the September 11 terrorist attacks that have left cruise companies, among other transportation operators, grappling to fill ships, involves two companies with an aggregate revenue of more than $5 billion in the 12 months preceding September 30, 2001. The new company, which will pose a serious threat to Carnival Corp. - to now the world's largest cruise shipping organization - will commandeer 41 ships and some 75,000 berths, with another 14 ships and 30,000 berths coming on line in the next three years.

The European Commission approved, pursuant to the Merger Regulation, a proposed transaction by which the British port operator P&O and the Dutch liner shipping company Royal Nedlloyd reorganize their common activities in the container liner shipping business. In 1996 Royal Nedlloyd NV and Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company (P&O) transferred all their respective activities in containerized liner shipping services to a newly created joint venture called P&O Nedlloyd (PONL). The businesses transferred included all their container ships, their respective ocean freight-forwarding business, the container packing operation as well as the road haulage business and rail shuttle business.

Royal P&O Nedlloyd has taken full ownership of P&O Nedlloyd which has effectively become independently listed on the Euronext stock market in Amsterdam. This marks the closing of the rights offering and the completion of the acquisition by Royal Nedlloyd of P&O's 50 per cent stake in P&O Nedlloyd. It also is the renaming of Royal Nedlloyd NV as Royal P&O Nedlloyd NV, and the independent listing of P&O Nedlloyd through Royal P&O Nedlloyd. "I am delighted that we have achieved the listing of P&O Nedlloyd on Euronext today. It is the culmination of our plan to give P&O Nedlloyd the independent status it needs to grow and flourish," said Andrew Land, Chairman of Royal P&O Nedlloyd.

Moody's Investors Service today assigned a Baa1 rating to the proposed $500 million bonds of P&O Princess Cruises plc, a new company to be formed by the planned de-merger of the Princess Cruise business from the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company in the fourth quarter of 2000. The rating outlook for P&O Princess is stable. Holders of existing P&O bonds will be offered the ability to exchange their securities for the proposed P&O Princess bonds. According to P&O, bondholders who do not agree to the exchange will no longer benefit from cash flows and asset of P&O Princess' cruise business. In a related action, Moody's downgraded to Baa1 from A3 its rating for the outstanding notes of P&O and left this rating under review for possible further downgrade.

British shipping firm Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company said that overall trading conditions at its core ports, ferries and logistics businesses had remained firm in the fourth quarter. The company, which de-merged its cruise business last year, highlighted strong growth in its ports unit but said trading in the ferry business had been "reasonable" despite higher fuel costs. Contract logistics had a good fourth quarter though the weakness of the euro hurt unit loads, while cold logistics hit high growth levels. The company added that its container shipping subsidiary P&O Nedloyd was also expected to finish the year strongly. - (Reuters)

The Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company added Charles Rice as a Board Member with immediate effect. Rice, 47, is Managing Director of P&O TransEuropean, the Group's European logistics business. He joined the Group in 1974 and held a number of commercial and operational roles within the container division in Japan, Australia and the USA before moving across to logistics and distribution. After a period as Managing Director of P&O Trans European in Germany he was appointed to his current position in 1996. Rice has an MBA from INSEAD and an honors degree in history from Oxford University.

According to reports, DP World, on target to achieve 40 percent growth in four years, will spend up to $3b to boost container traffic at the 52 port terminals it currently operates around the globe. Announcing the formal launch of Dubai World — the holding group comprising a collection of companies, including P&F World, the parent company of DP World — Sulayem said the diversified entity, which has seen the size and spread of business growing over the past couple of years, is geared to tap further huge potential for growth. Sulayem said DP World and its adviser Deutsche Bank were evaluating various offers for the six US terminals it acquired as part of the $6.8 billion take-over of Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Company in February.

Representative King (R-NY) introduced the Foreign Investment Security Improvement Act of 2006 (H.R. 4807) to require an investigation under the Defense Production Act of 1950 of the acquisition by Dubai Ports World of the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company, and for other purposes. This is a companion bill to S. 2333, introduced earlier by Senator Schumer. source: HK Law

Senator Schumer (D-NY) introduced a bill (S. 2333) to require an investigation under the Defense Production Act of 1950 of the acquisition by Dubai Ports World of the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company, and for other purposes. Source: HK Law

The Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Company (P&O) said its Ports unit had won a 30-year concession to develop a container terminal in India worth $170 million. The concession provides for the modernization of the current terminal operations and the development of Madras in southeast India as a major hub port. - (Reuters)

Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein said on Wednesday it was cutting its recommendation on P&O (Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Company Plc) to reduce from hold and had a price target of 240 pence a share. A research note said a recent visit to P&O Ports discovered that new project start-ups were proceeding apace and underlying volume growth was still healthy, although the market rate had fallen as world trade had slowed. Slower growth should prove challenging to P&O Nedlloyd as container shipping capacity is set to grow 12.5 percent this year and 11 percent next year. "Utilization will come under pressure and freight rates are likely to fall. It is largely a question of the timing and order of magnitude," the note said.

Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Company Plc (P&O) said its ports business remained robust during the second quarter despite slower growth in world trade. But analysts said P&O's trading update confirmed its ports division's 10 percent internal growth for the quarter on a year ago was still below the company's target annual rate of 16 percent growth for the 12 months to December 31, 2001. P&O's ferries business found conditions tough in the quarter, raising the prospect that some analysts might trim full-year earnings forecasts on the back of less-than-expected ports growth and deteriorating ferries and container markets. "The ports business is showing some robust growth as they would say…

British shipping and logistics group The Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Company (P&O) said on Thursday its Ports unit had won a 30-year concession to develop a container terminal in India worth $170 million. The concession provides for the modernization of the current terminal operations and the development of Madras in south east India as a major hub port.

Merrill Lynch said on Monday it had cut its rating on British shipping and logistics group The Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Company (P&O) to "reduce" from "neutral" in the intermediate term. Analysts at the investment bank also cut their long-term rating on the stock to "accumulate" from "buy", citing a worsening outlook for the company's container business. They expected second-quarter results for P&O Nedlloyd (P&O's joint venture with Dutch Koninklijke Nedlloyd Groep), due on Thursday, to be poor for sentiment, they said. "The tone is unlikely to be encouraging and the risk with forecasts is on the downside," they said.

P&O Nedlloyd said on Thursday that global economic slowdown was expected to affect future revenues, as the container shipping group posted a slight rise in second quarter operating profit. P&O Nedlloyd - a joint venture between Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Company Plc (P&O) and Koninklijke Nedlloyd Groep - said operating profit for the quarter rose to $46 million from $44 million a year ago. Overall volumes rose four percent from last year, but the average revenue rate fell four percent. "Slower growth in world trade and new capacity entering the market are expected to adversely impact future load factors and revenue," the group said in a statement.

British shipping group P&O plans to enter the German cruise market, one that the company sees as underdeveloped and with huge growth potential. The Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company is investing an initial $80.6 million and taking a 51 percent stake in a joint venture cruise company it is forming with privately owned German group Arkona Touristik. P&O said the new company, Aida Cruises, would order two new ships to complement the 1,200 berth Aida. P&O has an option to take full control of the venture once the ships are delivered. P&O Chairman Lord Sterling hailed the deal as a major strategic breakthrough. "It will give…

Peninsula & Oriental Steam Navigation Company Plc, said its Stena Line had results broadly comparable to year-ago figures, as it released quarterly ferries results. P&O also said carryings on its other ferry routes were broadly in line with the previous year. The group also said its Stena Line had a good year despite the loss of duty-free concession during the second half. The group decided to demerge its cruise operations this month in a bid for a higher market valuation for its ports, ferries and logistics operations. The company said freight rates and carryings for Stena have continued to grow strongly, and though tourist vehicle carryings have declined, rates have strengthened.

THE UK's largest ports and ferries operator was reported to be a £3 billion takeover target of a Middle Eastern rival. P&O could receive an approach from Dubai Ports World (DPW) as soon as this week after it hired Deutsche Bank to advise it on a bid, according to The Sunday Times. The Middle Eastern firm is understood to have contacted banks about financing a bid for P&O, which owns 27 container terminals around the world including Southampton and Tilbury in the UK. Takeover interest in UK ports firms has spiralled this year with Mersey Docks & Harbour - the owner of ports at Liverpool, Heysham and the Medway towns of Sheerness and Chatham - bought by Manchester-based Peel Holdings for £780 million.