Carnival Stockholders meeting

[Salacia]

According to advice received from my broker, the next Annual CCL Stockholder meeting* will take place on April 17, 2013, 3:00pm (BST)

at the Royal Academy of Engineering, London SW1Y 5DG

 

*For holders as of Feburary 19, 2013

Contact your broker for a proxy materials and voting instructions if you are unable to attend the meeting.

 

Edited to add : See http://www.proxyvote.com

Edited March 17, 2013 by Salacia

[Dancer Bob]

Arrgh! I'll be cruising in the Mediterranean on the 17th, so I guess my idea about bearding the lion in its den won't work. OK, fantasy51, over to you.

[Salacia]

You can vote on-line.

[fantasy51]

According to advice received from my broker, the next Annual CCL Stockholder meeting* will take place on April 17, 2013, 3:00pm (BST)

at the Royal Academy of Engineering, London SW1Y 5DG

 

 

Salacia, I find this very interesting as I can't find any information about this on the internet. Either I am using the wrong search terms or CCL does not publish information in a way that makes it accessible. I found lots about the 2012 meeting but not this year's.

 

Dancer Bob, I would love to make it but I am hoping to be cruising then (still waiting and hoping for a price to come down far enough).

[Salacia]

Salacia, I find this very interesting as I can't find any information about this on the internet. Either I am using the wrong search terms or CCL does not publish information in a way that makes it accessible. I found lots about the 2012 meeting but not this year's.

 

Dancer Bob, I would love to make it but I am hoping to be cruising then (still waiting and hoping for a price to come down far enough).

 

Fantasy51, I received the notice via snail mail from my broker last week. It includes information about voting methods and states "...please check the meeting materials for any special requirements for meeting addendance." The only link given is www.proxyvote.com and I don't know if that's for USA shareholders only, and/or those with shares through a particular broker. BTW, I couldn't find anything else on the web either. Sorry I couldn't be of more help. -S.

[Underwatr]

Here are links to the proxy info:

 

Proxy statement:

https://materials.proxyvote.com/Approved/143658/20130219/NPS_155635.PDF

 

Annual report:

https://materials.proxyvote.com/Approved/143658/20130219/AR_155681.PDF

 

Shareholder OBC was continued for another year. That's all I noticed. :)

[SEFlyer]

I received my notice today. It's a little far to travel for the meeting. Glad to see the shareholder OBC continued to summer of 2014. I bought 100 shares less than a year ago. Less than a year from now my total OBC return will be $750. Not a bad return for a 100 share purchase. And, the share price has grown and I've received dividends.:)

[Salacia]

I received my notice today. It's a little far to travel for the meeting. Glad to see the shareholder OBC continued to summer of 2014. I bought 100 shares less than a year ago. Less than a year from now my total OBC return will be $750. Not a bad return for a 100 share purchase. And, the share price has grown and I've received dividends.:)

 

 

Hi SEFlyer. Glad to hear your stock purchase has worked out well. Yes, I also benefited by dividends and stockholder OBC, but if I sold my CCL stock today, I would suffer a loss. Of course, many factors need to be considered before buying or selling any stock.

Edited March 19, 2013 by Salacia

[SEFlyer]

Hi SEFlyer. Glad to hear your stock purchase has worked out well. Yes, I also benefited by dividends and stockholder OBC, but if I sold my CCL stock today, I would suffer a loss. Of course, many factors need to be considered before buying or selling any stock.

 

Salacia, sorry to learn you haven't enjoyed capital appreciation. Mine is small but at least the stock moved in the right direction for me.

 

Maybe you need to sail more often to improve your OBC return on the investment. ;)

[Salacia]

Salacia, sorry to learn you haven't enjoyed capital appreciation. Mine is small but at least the stock moved in the right direction for me.

 

Maybe you need to sail more often to improve your OBC return on the investment. ;)

 

SEFlyer, I've averaged 2 QM2 voyages per year since 2008. The CCL stockholder benefit went towards paying a portion of my Hotel & Dining Charge on each voyage. Had I removed that charge, I suppose that would have negated the current loss I would suffer if I sold my (underwater) stock today.

 

Sailing more than twice a year on Cunard (or other CCL ships) is not within the budget of either my time, money --or desire. But thanks for the advice ;) :)

 

Regards,

Salacia

Cunard WC Platinum

Holland America 2 Star Mariner

Princess Gold

 

Note: Currently the 52 week high for CCL is 39.95USD - the low is 30.04.

Edited March 20, 2013 by Salacia

[Dancer Bob]

Best not to mention hotel & dining charge, the benefit isn't supposed to be used for "gratuities charged to your onboard account".

Actually, what I'm interested in, what are my rights as a shareholder to find out how much money Cunard is actually losing?

Edited March 26, 2013 by Dancer Bob

[Salacia]

Best not to mention hotel & dining charge, the benefit isn't supposed to be used for "gratuities charged to your onboard account".

Actually, what I'm interested in, what are my rights as a shareholder to find out how much money Cunard is actually losing?

 

 

Hi Dancer Bob. The Hotel & Dining Charge is not a gratuity, it shows on our In-Statroom Folio Statement just as any other charge on your our board account.

 

Carnival Corporation (CCL), traded on the NYSE, is required to file according to SEC rules. I do not know how to find specific financial information regarding the Cunard Line. To the best of my knowledge, that information is private. Happy to be corrected if I am mistaken.

 

What leads you to believe that Cunard is losing money? Thanks, -S.

[Underwatr]

From the annual report linked above for Carnival Corporation (not just the line "Carnival"):

 

2102

Revenues $ 15,382 million

Net Income $ 1,298 million

Earnings Per Share - Diluted $ 1.67

Non-GAAP Earnings Per Share - Diluted (a) $ 1.88

Regular Dividends Declared Per Share $ 1.00

Special Dividends Declared Per Share $ 0.50

Free Cash Flow (b) $ 1,175 million

 

CCL allocates income and expenses between North American (Carnival Cruise Lines, Holland America Line, Princess and Seabourn) and Europe, Australia & Asia (EAA) lines (AIDA, Costa, Cunard, Ibero, P&O Cruises (Australia) and P&O Cruises (UK)), but does not report the income or expenses of any particular line.

 

Interesting other nuggets in the report - cruise tickets account for about 75% of revenues and onboard sales only about 23%, with tour sales making up the rest of revenue (but ticket sales alone don't cover expenses, which is why onboard sales are considered central to profit).

 

Onboard sales were $3.5 billion, against expenses of onboard sales of $558 million.

 

Gross revenues from European-based passengers (regardless of the line they cruised) fell 10% in 2012 compared to 2011, while revenue from North American passengers rose 1.4%. Total revenues across the corproation fell 2.6% between 2011 and 2012.

 

North American lines operated at a 13.6% gross margin while EAA lines operated at a 7.4% margin (I may or may not have calculated this correctly; I used the figures on page 34).

Edited March 26, 2013 by Underwatr

[Underwatr]

More tidbits:

 

Excluding Costa, net revenue yields for 2012 were 'consistent with 2011'. (I know you would not have been able to give me a ticket on Costa a year ago...)

 

Significantly higher fuel prices reduced earnings by $215 million compared to the prior year. However, they were able to mitigate that impact by driving down fuel consumption per unit another four percent.

[Dancer Bob]

If Cunard isn't losing money, then why all the fuss about changes in 2014?

[Underwatr]

We haven't said whether Cunard is making money or losing money. But at the corporate level the earnings trend is running in the wrong direction and further attention is required to offset the trend of increasing fuel costs. Total fuel costs are almost 50% higher than only 2 years ago and is approaching twice the net income.

 

(Expressed as a stockholder more than as a passenger).

[Salacia]

If interested, an article regarding CCL's most recent earning release on 15 March 2013 can be found here "http://www.memphisdailynews.com/news/2013/mar/18/carnival-returns-to-profit-travelers-fear-mishaps/

 

Partial quote from that article: "The company [CCL] now expects revenue to be flat for the year, compared with a previous forecast for growth of 1 to 2 percent."

Edited March 26, 2013 by Salacia

[SEFlyer]

Its difficult to grow revenue when you tie up two ships for several months. That's what's happened with 2 of their Carnival Line ships:

 

http://www.breakingtravelnews.com/news/article/carnival-cancels-host-of-cruises-over-safety-concerns/

[Dancer Bob]

SEC filings and annual reports are at best management-by-rear-view-mirror. The question I want to ask is "Which of Carnival Corp divisions are making money? You may restrict your answer to Cunard." The context is the changes for 2014 attracting so much posting- is Cunard losing money and needs to have some drastic surgery, soon? Or is it just posturing and trial balloons?

Incidently, I suspect QM2 is a white elephant, why else has nobody from either Carnival or the competition built another? Wouldn't they be boasting to the shareholders about the profits from their wonderful management?

[SEFlyer]

Maybe you can share the results of your research with us. Please share with us the reliable forward projecting reports you find as authentic alternatives to the rear view mirror of annual reports.

[Salacia]

More tidbits:

 

Excluding Costa, net revenue yields for 2012 were 'consistent with 2011'. (I know you would not have been able to give me a ticket on Costa a year ago...)

 

Significantly higher fuel prices reduced earnings by $215 million compared to the prior year. However, they were able to mitigate that impact by driving down fuel consumption per unit another four percent.

 

Update regarding fuel costs: quote from a July 23, 2013 Wall Street Journal interview with Micky Arison:

 

"WSJ: What global challenges do you foresee for Carnival and its industry?

Mr. Arison: We face a weak economic situation in Europe. Spain and Italy are heavily impacted. Southern Europe is going to continue to struggle. Europe is a very significant piece of our business, representing about 35% of annual revenue.

Fuel has become another big issue. A lot of our ships were designed in a low-price fuel environment. Over the last six to eight years, fuel costs have more than quadrupled.

To control them, we are conserving. The biggest single thing is slowing ships down, which saves on fuel. In the last five years, our fuel consumption is down 21% per passenger. We are projecting our fuel consumption per passenger to be down another 5% this fiscal year. " http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324144304578623801850820478.html

Edited August 1, 2013 by Salacia

[Salacia]

If interested, a re-broadcast of Q3 2013 Carnival Corporation & plc Earnings Conference Call from Tuesday, September 24, 2013 10:00 a.m. ET can be found here: http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?p=irol-eventDetails&c=140690&eventID=5024231

[andhow]

If interested, a re-broadcast of Q3 2013 Carnival Corporation & plc Earnings Conference Call from Tuesday, September 24, 2013 10:00 a.m. ET can be found here: http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?p=irol-eventDetails&c=140690&eventID=5024231

 

Unfortunately it isn't very good reading - look at the share price drop!

 

andhow

[Salacia]

Unfortunately it isn't very good reading - look at the share price drop!

 

andhow

 

Yes, CCL reached a new 52 week low on NYSE.

 

BTW, Forbes has an interesting article titled "Carnival's Stalled Cruise: Can Micky Arison's Handpicked Successor Right The Ship?" http://www.forbes.com/sites/calebmelby/2013/10/09/carnivals-sinking-feeling-investors-arent-convinced-micky-arisons-handpicked-successor-can-right-the-ship/

[ovccruiser]

Yes, CCL reached a new 52 week low on NYSE.

 

BTW, Forbes has an interesting article titled "Carnival's Stalled Cruise: Can Micky Arison's Handpicked Successor Right The Ship?" http://www.forbes.com/sites/calebmelby/2013/10/09/carnivals-sinking-feeling-investors-arent-convinced-micky-arisons-handpicked-successor-can-right-the-ship/

 

They are still well above what I paid for them:D and at present I still get my OBC.