OT: CCL. Vacations/Mexico got me to review RCL. Stock's dropped recently, apparently due to Egypt/Mid-East not being the tourist destination it was earlier. As for rise in price of fuel, the cruise lines tack on a fuel surcharge. And from the company's results, it doesn't seem to have eroded revenues or profits so far. People who have money and time apparently still see cruising as a desirable vacation/get-away.
Holding on to my remaining RCL shares (40% sold last October), I've involved myself a bit more today in the sector by acquiring a few shares of competitor CCL. I like CCL because it's the dominating company in the sector and it pays a dividend:
Dividend increased:
phx.corporate-ir.net
"MIAMI, Jan. 20, 2011 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ --
Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK) today announced an increase in its regular quarterly dividend to $0.25 per share from $0.10 per share.
"Considering the current economic climate, our ability to more than double our dividend just a year after its reinstatement is a remarkable testament to the resilience of our global cruise brands and our confidence in the future of our business," said Micky Arison, Carnival Corporation & plc chairman and CEO. "Given our projected increase in cash from operations, expected to exceed $4 billion in 2011, combined with lower capital investment commitments due to the slower pace of our newbuild program, the company will begin generating significant free cash flow in 2011 and beyond," he added."
Record bookings:
online.barrons.com
"MIAMI, Feb. 15, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Carnival Cruise Lines set a one-week reservations record booking 165,308 guests between Feb. 7-13, 2011, eclipsing the previous one-week reservations record set nearly four years ago.
Bookings were at unprecedented levels across the line's fleet, which operates three- to 16-day voyages from a wide range of convenient North American homeports as well as European cruises."
finance.yahoo.com |
