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Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay and David Chua Ming Huat resign from NCLH board

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines; Published: 04 March 2015 04 March 2015

Two members that represent Genting Hong Kong in the board of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) have resigned, Genting Hong Kong said in a statement.

"The board of directors of Genting Hong Kong Limited announces that its nominees serving as directors of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd., namely Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay (the Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, Acting- President and an executive director of the Company) and Mr. David Chua Ming Huat, resigned from the board of NCLH with effect from 3 March 2015, respectively," Genting said in a statement.

"Two replacement directors have been nominated by the Company to the board of NCLH and are expected to be appointed in due course," the company continued.

The resignations came a day after Genting Hong Kong had acquired Crystal Cruises, the Los Angeles based luxury cruise brand from Tokyo based Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK) group. Crystal could be viewed as c competitor of Regent Seven Seas Cruises, which NCLH acquired last year, together with Oceania Cruises, in a $3.025 billion deal.

Commenting on Genting Hong Kong's position as shareholder of NCLH, Robin Farley, cruise industry analyst at UBS in New York said: "We had written last week about overhang of NCLH largest (25-26%) shareholder Genting HK having filed last year for HK shareholder approval to sell its stake in NCLH. That approval will expire in May, but we noted last week that Genting may renew the approval for another year."

"NCLH has authorized $500 million in repo last year but we believe balance sheet constraints make it unlikely before 2H this year, so perhaps a selling shareholder would want to wait till 2H if NCLH could then buy a block. We view this as a positive for the stock that any block share sale may be pushed further out," she said in a research note.

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. appoints Andy Stuart President and COO for Norwegian Cruise Line

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines; Published: 04 March 2015 04 March 2015

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. announced that company veteran Andy Stuart has been named President and Chief Operating Officer of Norwegian Cruise Line effective today, following the resignation of Drew Madsen. Stuart has been with Norwegian Cruise Line since 1988 and has held a number of leadership positions, most recently as Executive Vice President of Sales.

“Given the recent restructuring of the role and job responsibilities, Drew has decided to step down. We thank him for his contributions and wish him well,” said Frank Del Rio, President and Chief Executive Officer of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. “As we continue to build the newly merged organization, we are tapping into the tremendous company and industry knowledge that Andy has, along with the strong relationships he has built with our travel partners.”

“Andy and Norwegian are virtually synonymous. He is very well known and respected by our guests, travel partners, officers, crew, and team members. I am extremely confident that he is the perfect leader for the next phase of Norwegian’s growth,” added Del Rio. In this role, Stuart will report to Del Rio.

Stuart has been instrumental in building the Norwegian brand, particularly in the roll out and marketing of the line’s signature Freestyle Cruising. He also greatly strengthened relationships with travel partners with the introduction of Partners First, the company’s corporate philosophy of always putting its travel partners first. During his 27-year tenure with the company, he has held responsibility for a number of key areas including: Global Sales, Passenger Services, Revenue Management, Marketing and Public Relations. He also served as Chief Product Officer, responsible for delivery of the Freestyle Cruising product across the Norwegian fleet, ensuring that it provided exceptional value and quality for guests and was consistent with the marketing and brand positioning of the company.

“Having seen Norwegian Cruise Line grow significantly during the course of my career, I am thrilled and proud to lead this incredible company as we continue to enhance and build the brand,” said Stuart. “The future is extremely bright and I am looking forward to continuing to work with our travel partners through our expanded sales team, delivering an exceptional product to our guests in conjunction with our hard-working officers and crew and ensuring that our team members are motivated and engaged, all the while building value for our shareholders.”

Genting's Crystal acquisition highlights luxury segment's need to make money - UBS' Farley

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines; Published: 04 March 2015 04 March 2015

The acquisition of Crystal Cruises, the Los Angeles based luxury cruise operator, by Genting Hong Kong from Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK) is good for the luxury segment as it highlights its need to be profitable, said Robin Farley, cruise industry analyst at UBS in New York.

"We believe it'll also make for a healthier competitive environment to now have three of the four luxury brands owned by public co's that view such assets as a business that needs to make money rather than a trophy property. That is also marginally positive for CCL (Carnival Corp & plc), whose Seabourn brand is one of industry's 4 luxury brands," she said in a research note.

NYK is a major Tokyo based shipping group that has interest in container, crude carrier, dry bulk and vehicle shipping sectors. It retains one cruise liner, the 1990 built Asuka II that caters for rhe Japanese narket.

"It's unclear what Genting HK's plans are for the brand outside of their expressed intention to order a new ship for the brand, which is currently comprised of only two ships, & that would still taketwo to three years to enter service since it is not currently on order. But if Genting were to target the luxury brand to the Chinese market, for example, that could eventually help pave the way for other luxury brands in the Chinese market, also a potential positive for NCLH's (Norwegian Cruise L:ine Holdings') Regent brand and CCL's Seabourn brand," she pointed out.