Tag Archives: Carnival Corporation

Write downs a factor in lower Q3 earnings for Carnival Corp.

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Write downs a factor in lower Q3 earnings for Carnival Corp.

By Tom Stieghorst
Carnival Corp. earned $934 million in the key third quarter, down 28% from the $1.3 billion earned in the same quarter last year.

Revenue of $4.7 billion was in line with last year, Carnival said.

Carnival said it had impairment charges of $203 million to write down the value of two older Costa ships, its Ibero Cruises trademark and other items. Those were partly offset by a gain on fuel derivative contracts.

Like other cruise lines, Carnival earns the bulk of its annual profits in the third quarter, which at Carnival includes the months of June, July and August.

For all of 2013, Carnival said it expects to earn $1.2 billion.

Carnival also reported income on a non-GAAP accounting basis, a method favored by some investors. By that measure, it earned $1.1 billion, down from $1.2 billion a year ago.

P&O Cruises to name new ship Britannia

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P&O Cruises to name new ship Britannia

By Lee Hayhurst

P&O Cruises to name new ship BritanniaP&O Cruises is to name its new ship Britannia.

The 141,000-ton ship, which is due to enter service in spring 2015, will boost the line’s capacity by 24% and carry 3,600 passengers.

Speaking at an event this morning in front of Carnival Corporation chairman Micky Arison and chief executive Arnold Donald, P&O Cruises and Carnival UK chief executive David Dingle said the naming of the ship reflected a “rediscovered pride in our country”.

He said: “Britannia is a most fitting name for the newest addition to P&O Cruises which, with its long and famous heritage, remains Britain’s favourite cruise line. Britannia will capture both the contemporary spirit of P&O Cruises and the spirit of Britain today.

“Today’s Britain is a place of increasing style and sophistication, optimism and excitement. Britannia will reflect that feeling and will mark a new era of growth and success for the cruise industry.”

He added: “Britannia will underpin P&O Cruises’ unique commitment to building ships specifically designed to anticipate the tastes of today’s Britain. It will be a modern classic, a ship for this and future generations offering authentic travel by sea in an enduringly contemporary setting.”

 

The ship will be the third connected with P&O Cruises to be named Britannia. The first entered service in 1835 for the General Steam Navigation Company; the second entered service in 1887 and was one of four ordered to mark the Golden Jubilee of both Queen Victoria and P&O itself.

The new Britannia is being designed by London-based Richmond International, and in response to feedback will feature more single cabins than any other ship.

P&O also claims it will be its greenest yet, and will be designed to deliver much greater levels of operational and environmental efficiency. A new hull form will reduce fuel consumption by up to 20%.

 

 

 

Concordia salvagers pull ship upright

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Concordia salvagers pull ship upright

By Phil Davies

Concordia salvagers pull ship uprightImage credit: Rex/Olycom SPA

The hull of stricken Costa Concordia has been set upright in a salvage operation which took all of Monday and most of last night.

Franco Gabrielli, the head of Italy’s Civil Protection Authority, said the vessel was now sitting on a platform built on the sea bed.

Experts used cables and metal boxes filled with water to roll the ship onto a platform 20 months after it ran aground off the Italian island of Giglio killing 32 people. Two remain unaccounted for.

Concordia was declared completely upright shortly after 4am local time today.

Engineers originally planned to complete the operation by Monday evening, but were forced into a three-hour delay due to a storm.

The procedure was carried out gradually to avoid further damage to the hull, which spent months partially submerged in 50ft of water and fully exposed to the elements.

The 114-tonne vessel will be inspected, prepared for repairs and refloated before being towed away to be dismantled.