Carnival Reports Record $2.8 Billion Profit in 2016

Posted on 21 December, 2016 by Spacejunkie2

Carnival Corp.

By https://gcaptain.com/

Carnival Corporation, the world’s largest cruise ship company, posted a record $2.8 billion profit for its full fiscal year 2016 as the company looks towards another solid year for the cruise industry in 2017.

Carnival Corp. reported the record full year and fourth quarter earnings Tuesday. Carnival announced net income for the full year 2016 of $2.8 billion, or $3.72 diluted EPS, compared to $1.8 billion, or $2.26 diluted EPS, for the prior year.

Carnival Corp. said revenues for the full year 2016 were $16.4 billion, $700 million higher than the $15.7 billion in the prior year.

“We achieved the most profitable year in our company’s history as well as record fourth quarter earnings,” said Carnival Corporation & plc President and Chief Executive Officer Arnold Donald. “The continued execution of our core strategy to drive consumer demand in excess of measured capacity growth, contain costs and leverage our industry-leading scale resulted in our third consecutive year of significantly higher earnings and return on invested capital. The delivery of over $5 billion in cash from operations for our shareholders enabled increased dividend distributions reaching $1 billion and the investment of over $2.3 billion in the repurchase of Carnival Corporation stock.”

Highlights from the fourth quarter 2016 included the U.S. debut of Carnival Cruise Line’s Carnival Vista. Holland America’s Koningsdam also made its North American debut in November while Seabourn took delivery of ultra-luxury cruise ship Seabourn Encore.

Seabourn Encore

During the quarter, Carnival Corp. also signed a memorandum of agreement with Meyer Werft for three new 180,000-ton cruise ships that will be powered by liquefied natural gas, the world’s cleanest burning fossil fuel. Two of the ships are for Carnival Cruise Line and are scheduled for delivery in 2020 and 2022. The third ship is designated for P&O Cruises (UK) and is scheduled for delivery in 2020. The company also signed an agreement with Shell to begin fueling its LNG-powered ships, starting with AIDA and Costa ships scheduled to launch in 2019.

Looking ahead, Carnival said it expects another solid year in 2017, forecasting adjusted earnings per share to be in the range of $3.30 to $3.60, compared to 2016 adjusted earnings per share of $3.45 in 2017.

“We are anticipating another solid year of operational improvement in 2017. Despite the unusual and significant impact of fuel and currency working against us simultaneously, the underlying strength in our fundamental business leaves us well positioned to achieve sustained double digit return on invested capital and to create continued value for our shareholders,” Donald added.

Carnival set to ‘raise the bar’ with tech announcement

Posted on 21 November, 2016 by Spacejunkie2

Carnival’s Vista Class ship.

by Phil Davies

A new connected experience that uses the ‘internet of things’ is to be deployed by Carnival Corporation to “raise the vacation bar”.

A new passenger experience level based on personalisation and simplicity at scale is being promised through the use of first-of-its kind technology, according to the cruise giant.

More is due to be unveiled by chief executive Arnold Donald at an event in Las Vegas on January 5, including an in-depth look into the new technology, according to the company.

Details remain sketchy ahead of the formal unveiling at the 2017 US Consumer Electronics Show, where Donald will give the keynote speech.

Gary Shapiro, president and chief executive of show organiser the Consumer Technology Association, said: “Carnival Corp’s visibility at CES reflects our focus on ground breaking innovation and underscores that technology no longer has strict, defined boundaries.

“It disrupts traditional business sectors and empowers consumers in ways never before imagined. A recent CTA study found that consumers overwhelmingly use technology to enhance their travel experiences.

“[Arnold] Donald’s address will demonstrate how Carnival Corp and its cruise line brands, in turn, is using innovative tech to provide a more personalised and enhanced experience for its consumers.”

Carnival CEO says Trump likely to be pro-business

Posted on 17 November, 2016 by Spacejunkie2

Carnival Corp. CEO Arnold Donald with Travel Weekly editor in chief Arnie Weissmann at CruiseWorld. Photo Credit: Jamie Biesiada

Carnival Corp. CEO Arnold Donald said that the election of Donald Trump as president has the potential to be good for the cruise industry, but he also said he hopes that Trump will do “the right thing” internationally.

Donald made the comment during a conversation with Travel Weekly editor in chief Arnie Weissmann at CruiseWorld, an annual Travel Weekly event in Fort Lauderdale that brings together travel agents and travel suppliers.

Asked by Weissmann for his response to the election, Donald quoted Secretary of State John Kerry, who several years ago said that there are no winners or losers after a U.S. presidential election. “The next morning we all wake up as Americans” who work on problems together, Donald said.

More specifically, Donald said, “On the surface, President Trump will be pro-business. At the same time, I hope he does the right thing internationally. Most of our business is outside the U.S.”

In a follow-up about Cuba, Donald said that despite Trump’s campaign rhetoric about reversing President Obama’s openings toward Cuba, “I’m cautiously optimistic that bringing the two countries together is the right thing to do.”

Earlier this year, Carnival Corp.’s Fathom brand became the first line to regularly shuttle passengers between the U.S. and Cuba in over 50 years.

Donald said Carnival continues to work on a private destination in the Bahamas but isn’t ready to announce anything. Carnival executives have said in the past they have a potential site picked out on Grand Bahama Island.

“We want the right one on the right terms,” Donald said. “We think we have something coming soon, but we don’t want to count the chickens before they hatch, so to speak.”

Donald took the chance to show the audience of several hundred travel agents clips from the new Carnival-produced Saturday-morning network TV shows, such as “Vacation Creation” and “Ocean Treks with Jeff Corwin.”

He also regaled the group with a tale of highlights from his rise to CEO of Carnival Corp. He said his initial introduction to Carnival Corp. chairman Mickey Arison was engineered by board member Uzi Zucker, a Bear Stearns partner who also served as an adviser to a private equity firm of which Donald was a part.

He also told about his ambition as an 11th-grader to be a very specific level of manager at a specific type of Fortune 50 company. He said the teachers at the all-boys Catholic high school in New Orleans he attended on scholarship constantly reminded their students to think big.

“Three times a day they told us, ‘Gentlemen, prepare yourselves. You’re going to run the world.'”