ROYAL
CARIBBEAN CRUISES reached an agreement to purchase
Madrid-based cruise operator Pullmantur for $900 million. The
Spanish company operates five ships in Europe and Latin America,
offers land tours and has a small aviation business to support its
cruise and tour operations. Formed in 1971, Pullmantur, the largest
cruise operator in Spain, carried approximately 148,000 guests last
year. During a conference call with investors, RCCL CEO Richard
Fain called the move a terrific strategic opportunity to further
penetrate the emerging and rapidly growing European and Latin
American markets. RCCLs stock jumped almost 8% on the day of the
announcement.
DURING THE
CALL, Royal Caribbean International president Adam
Goldstein said that third-quarter, closer-in bookings were better
than expected in both the Caribbean and Europe, prompting RCCL to
adjust its third-quarter earnings per share estimates to $1.60 from
$1.49, its full-year earnings per share estimates to $2.95 from
$2.72 and its fiscal year 2007 earnings per share estimates from
$2.48 to $2.59. In July and August, occupancy ended up higher than
we had been expecting, Goldstein said, adding that it drove higher
ticket prices and shipboard revenue.
THE
INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL OF CRUISE LINES said that the cruise
industry contributed $32.4 billion to the U.S. economy in 2005,
7.9% more than in 2004. It was the slightest increase in four
years, according the annual ICCL study, which ICCL commissioned
from Business Research and Economic Advisors. The industry
experienced a more moderate rate of expansion in 2005, the survey
said; passenger embarkations at U.S. ports increased more slowly in
2005, resulting in a reduced rate of growth in passenger and cruise
spending. Global spending on a per passenger basis rose 7%, to
$1,667. ICCL President Michael Crye said that 2005 was challenging
due to weather disruptions and fewer new ships delivered...
however, the cruise industry remained a robust economic
resource.
CRUISE
LINES, PASSENGERS AND CREW were responsible for $16.2
billion in direct spending on U.S. goods and services last year,
the study said, $1.5 billion, or 10%, more than in 2004. The cruise
industry supported more than 330,000 jobs nationwide and
contributed to $13.5 billion in wages and salaries to Americans in
2005. These economic benefits to the U.S. economy derived from many
sources, from spending by passengers and crew for travel to the
port of embarkation, to staffing at cruise lines headquarters to
maintenance and repair of cruise ships at U.S. shipyards. The
industrys economic impact was concentrated in 10 states: Florida,
California, New York, Alaska, Texas, Georgia, Washington, Hawaii,
Massachusetts and Illinois.
CRYSTAL
CRUISES will spend $23 million to refurbish the Crystal
Symphony in what will be the lines largest and most expensive
dry-dock to date. The two-week upgrade will take the ship out of
service from Oct. 31 to Nov. 12, when nearly 1,300 people will work
around the clock on more than 150 projects to create what Crystal
said will essentially be a new ship, especially to those familiar
with it. All the Symphonys cabins will be renovated, the Tiffany
Deck will be redone and a new casino and new nightclub will be
built, among other changes. Within the last two to three years, we
will have invested in excess of $35 million dollars in new
construction projects that will ultimately transform the look of
the Crystal Symphony, said Thomas Mazloum, Crystals senior vice
president of hotel operations.
Cruise
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