Morgan Stanley raises pricing, demand and overcapacity concerns, Carnival plc falls more than 6%

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Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen

Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines

Published: 05 June 2018 05 June 2018

Shares in Carnival plc, the British holding company in the carnival Corporation & plc group, fell more than 6% on 5 June following a reported negative outlook expressed by Morgan Stanley, the US investment bank

“Our channel checks show solid booking volumes but at flat prices, and agents cite concerns about the Caribbean and general Q4 demand,” Proactiveinvestor.co.uk website quoted Morgan Stanley as saying in a report to clients.

“We cut forecasts for fuel/FX (fuel/ foreign exchange), with FY19e (financial year 2019 estimate) EPS (earnings per share) -11% for CCL, -5% for NCLH and -3% for RCL, and stay cautious on the cruise space due to oversupply risk,” the bank was cited as saying. CCL refers to the Carnival group, whose Carnival Corporation holdimng unit is domiciled in Panama and head quartered in the US, RCL refer to Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd. and NCLH to Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings.

“The double whammy of the recent rally in oil prices, plus the stronger dollar in addition to hurricane threats and a risk of over capacity led the investment bank to slash their earnings forecast for the firm,” a report on cityindex.co.uk said, referring to the Morgan Stanley report.

Shares in Carnival plc closed 6.40% lower at £45.61 in London, while Carnival Corporation was 4.33% lower at $60.63 at lunchtime in New York. Both Royal Caribbean and Norwegian traded more than 4% lower in New York at the same time.

Fincantieri delivers MSC Seaview

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines

Published: 04 June 2018 04 June 2018

Today, MSC Cruises officially took delivery of its new flagship MSC Seaview, at the Fincantieri shipyard in Monfalcone, Italy. The delivery ceremony took place in the presence of Gianluigi Aponte, the ship owner as well as Founder and Executive Chairman of MSC Group. Also present at the ceremony were Pierfrancesco Vago, Executive Chairman of MSC Cruises, other members of the Aponte and Aponte-Vago families, Giuseppe Bono, CEO of Fincantieri, as well as other regional and local authorities and dignitaries.

Coming on the heels of her sister ship, MSC Seaside — which launched at the end of 2017 in Miami — MSC Seaview is ready to start sailing her inaugural season in the Mediterranean. The ship, representing a key highlight for 2018 as she is the one MSC Cruises new build coming into service this year, is also the third MSC Cruises new build to come into service in just 12 months, the second ship to be built by Fincantieri, and the 15th ship to join the MSC Cruises global fleet.

With her iconic “beach condo” design and generous outdoor public spaces, MSC Seaview is a game changer, bringing guests closer to the sea and ensuring they are able to enjoy the outdoors during their cruise. During her inaugural season, MSC Seaview will cruise the Mediterranean. She then heads to South America for the winter season, further strengthening the Company’s position in two markets in which MSC Cruises is the leading cruise brand.

“MSC Seaview will bring yet another new distinctively innovative MSC Cruises product to the market as she boasts cutting edge design, and features the latest marine and environmental technology,” said Pierfrancesco Vago, Executive Chairman of MSC Cruises. “She is an example of our commitment to bring the best and most innovative tonnage to the market, and our ambition to set each time a new standard in the industry. The Seaside class is yet another brand new, highly-innovative prototype that we introduce – the 5th to date, since we entered the cruising industry only 15 years ago. Moreover, I am proud to say, together with her sister ship MSC Seaside, it is the biggest ship ever built in Italy.”

Vago added, “We are increasing capacity at record speeds. MSC Seaview is the third ship to come into service in just 12 months. These are very exciting times for us, and we are already merely nine months away of the completion of our next ship, MSC Bellissima – the first of two Meraviglia class ships that will come into service over a six-month period next year.”

“We will remember MSC Seaview, without doubt, as an authentic undertaking. Just six months ago, in fact, we celebrated in this same yard the delivery of the largest ship ever built in Italy, MSC Seaside, a revolutionary prototype,” said Giuseppe Bono, CEO of Fincantieri. “Today we are repeating this success with her sister ship. This is an amazing performance that we are extremely proud of, carried out thanks to the technical and managerial skills, which made us great and acknowledged as such in the world and which allows us to look to the future with renewed confidence.”

During today’s delivery ceremony, which pays tribute to an important maritime tradition, Roberto Olivari, Fincantieri's shipyard director, handed over to Pier Paolo Scala, Master of MSC Seaview, an ampoule holding the first water that touched the hull when the ship was floated out last year.

MSC Seaview is the second ship in the Seaside Class and, like her sister ship MSC Seaside, is pushing the boundaries of pioneering ship building and design. As one of the most innovative ships at sea, MSC Seaview will feature the latest environmental technology. In addition to complying with the highest international environmental standards she will also receive from the international classification society RINA, — in addition to the main class notations – the “Green Star 3 Design” notation. RINA’s Green Star 3 — the latest and most comprehensive of RINA’s Green STAR class notations – recognizes attention to detail during design and construction. Specifically, the certification recognizes that MSC Seaview reaches the highest levels of eco-compatibility thanks to the relevance of the various innovative measures put in place to help reduce the ship’s environmental footprint during operations. These include the exhaust gas cleaning system, advanced waste water treatment, systems for the prevention of oil discharge from machinery spaces, ballast water treatment system, and the ship’s Environmental Management Plan.

MSC Seaview is the third ship to be built under MSC Cruises’ EUR 10.5 billion ($12.4 billion USD) investment plan which has already resulted in the completion of two out of 12 next-generation ships: MSC Meraviglia and MSC Seaside in May 2017 and November 2017 respectively. She will depart from the shipyard later today, making a three-day voyage, arriving in her homeport, Genoa, Italy, on June 7. The newest addition to the MSC Cruises’ fleet will be officially inaugurated there in a glittering ceremony on June 9 and will commence her inaugural cruise on June 10.