Top Headlines

MSC Cruises 2017 net profit fell to €311 million

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines; Published: 26 April 2018 26 April 2018

MSC Cruises, the Geneva based privately owned cruise shipping company, reported a fall in net profit last year to €311 million from €338 million in the previous year, the company said in its 2017 annual report.

Revenues increased to €2.28 billion from €1.95 billion and operating profit increased to €367 million from €338 million.

Net yield rose to €134 per passenger and day from €127 in 2016, while net cruise costs excluding fuel increased to €78 from €74.

The group’s assets totaled at €6.82 billion at the end of last year, an increase from €5.54 billion a year earlier. Equity increased to €1.73 billion from €1.39 billion, while debt rose to €3.98 billion from €3.05 billion.

“Our overall capacity increased by 8.3%, from 11.4 million to 12.4 million Available Lower Berth Days, as a result of the deliveries of MSC Meraviglia and MSC Seaside during 2017.

In 2017, we were close to hitting the milestone of welcoming 2 million passengers, an increase of 9.0% compared to the previous year. Our ship occupancy achieved 111.0% remaining in line with the year before,” the company said.

Carnival Cruise Line names Lars Ljoen to head marine operations

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines; Published: 26 April 2018 26 April 2018

Carnival Cruise Line announced today that it has appointed Lars Ljoen as its new executive vice president of marine operations. Ljoen is currently the executive vice president and managing director of Carnival Maritime, the marine service unit of the Costa Group in Hamburg, Germany.

Ljoen will be responsible for overseeing all of Carnival Cruise Line’s marine operations, including nautical and technical operations, environmental compliance and safety. He will be succeeding Martin Landtman, Carnival’s senior vice president of marine operations, who will be retiring from Carnival in June.

“Lars has the leadership skills and experience to further drive continuous improvement and operational excellence in marine operations across our fleet,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line. “Having run Costa Group’s maritime unit, Lars will bring vast knowledge, passion and enthusiasm to this role and we are excited to welcome him to the team.”

Ljoen has a long and successful track record in marine operations. He joined the Costa Group in 2015 as senior vice president and was promoted to executive vice president and Managing Director in 2016. At Costa, he was responsible for fleet governance, Marine Projects and continuous improvement initiatives. From 2005 to 2015, Ljoen headed the development of business strategies for Ceres Marine Terminals (NYK Ports) in Miami. Prior to that, he was director of marine operations at Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd where he managed fleet-wide navigation issues, maritime training and dock operations. A native Norwegian, Ljoen began his career on supply vessels and shuttle tankers in the North Sea offshore industry.

“There is strong collaboration among the brands at Carnival Corporation and I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to step into this leadership role at Carnival Cruise Line, working closely with the seasoned team of maritime professionals,” said Ljoen.

RCCL raises 2018 EPS guidance $0.15 to up to $8.90

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines; Published: 26 April 2018 26 April 2018

Royal Caribbean Cruises, Limited (RCCL), the world’s second largest cruise shipping group, said it has has increased its forecast of full year adjusted earnings per share (EPS) to a range of $8.70 to $8.90 per share, $0.15 above the previous guidance.

“The company's 2018 booked position is better than last year's record high and ahead in both volume and rate. All core products are generally in line with the company's previous expectations,” it said in a statement.

The company expects a Net Yield increase in the range of 2.0% to 3.75% in Constant-Currency and approximately 4.0% As-Reported for the full year.

Net cruise costs, excluding fuel, are expected to be up approximately 2.5% in Constant-Currency and up 3.0% to 3.5% As-Reported. “This revised cost guidance reflects some shifts related to our joint ventures that will be shown below the operating profit line versus above line. The updated guidance also reflects increased investments in demand generating activities,” RCCL said.

Lower interest bill, non operating costs power RCCL to record first quarter net profit

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines; Published: 26 April 2018 26 April 2018

A fall in non operating costs led by a 15% fall in net interest expenses helped Royal Caribbean Cruises, Limited (RCCL), the world’s second largest cruise shipping group to report a record first quarter net profit of $218.6 million.

Revenues rose a fraction, to $2.03 billion from $2.00 billion in the first three months of last year, while operating profit shrank to $274.1 million from $279.5 million. Net profit rose to $218.6 million from $214.7 million year on, helped by a fall in non operating expenses to $55.5 million from $64.8 million. Net interest expenses dropped by 15% to $67.9 million.

“The company reported first quarter US GAAP earnings of $1.02 per share and adjusted earnings of $1.09 per share beating guidance due to better revenue,” the company said in a statement, adding that during this quarter the company completed the $500 million share repurchase program authorized a year ago. The number of shares outstanding amounted to 212.6 million at the end of the quarter, down from 214.9 million year on.

Gross Yields rose 3.1% in Constant-Currency and 5.1% As-Reported in the quarter, year on, while Net Yields increased by 4.9% in Constant-Currency and by 7.0% As-Reported.

Gross Cruise Costs per APCD increased 5.0% in Constant-Currency and by 6.1% As-Reported. Net Cruise Costs excluding fuel per available passenger capacity day (APCD) increased by 11.2% in Constant-Currency.

Overall, the company's booked position remains at a record level, better than last year in both rate and volume.

"This year is proving to be another strong year with all our brands firing on all cylinders," said Richard D. Fain, chairman and CEO. "The market continues to support our growth as our people keep focused on delivering our targets and goals. The strength of this market plus our new ships in 2018 (Symphony of the Seas, Azamara Pursuit, Mein Schiff 1 and Celebrity Edge), position us nicely for 2019 as well."

TUI Cruises takes delivery of Mein Schiff 1 and renames oldest vessel

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines; Published: 25 April 2018 25 April 2018

TUI Cruises, the Hamburg based premium cruise line, has taken delivery of Mein Schiff 1 from Meyer Turku shipyard in Finland and renamed its oldest vessel Mein Schiff Hertz.

The new ship is of about 111,500 gross tons, making it the largest unit in the fleet of TUI Cruises. The company will retain the Mein Schiff 2, built as Mercury for Celebrity Cruises in 1997 rather than to sell it to Marella Cruises in the UK as originally planned. Marella Cruises is a fully owned unit of TUI AG, which also owns 50% of the shares in TUI Cruises.

As the second newbuilding of the Mein Schiff 1 type will be called Mein Schiff 2, it had become necessary to rename the existing vessels of that name and it will now be called Mein Schiff Hertz. The third newbuilding of the Mein Schiff 1 type will be called Mein Schiff 7, TUI Cruises said in a statement.