TIDMCCL 
 
Carnival Corporation Announces Additional Steps to Further Strengthen Ability 
             to Manage through Extended Pause in Guest Operations 
 
MIAMI, May 14, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --  Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; 
NYSE: CUK), the world's largest leisure travel company and cruise operator, 
announced today a number of additional actions it is taking to further 
strengthen its liquidity position in the event of an extended pause in guest 
operations due to COVID-19. 
 
Carnival Corporation was the first to pause the guest cruise operations of some 
of its brands in the face of the impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic, 
followed on March 13th by the rest of its brands and the other cruise 
companies. That action was taken before stay-at-home or shelter-in-place was 
implemented in the U.S. and before U.S. hotels, airlines, restaurants and other 
forms of public gathering or transportation began shutting down or limiting 
service. 
 
Last month the company completed a successful financing effort with a heavily 
oversubscribed offering of senior secured notes, senior convertible notes and 
common stock, netting $6.4 billion of additional liquidity. To further 
strengthen liquidity, Carnival Corporation and its brands are announcing a 
combination of layoffs, furloughs, reduced work weeks and salary reductions 
across the company, including senior management. These moves will contribute 
hundreds of millions of dollars in cash conservation on an annualized basis. 
 
Since the company paused its guest cruise operations in early March, workforce 
changes were largely placed on hold, even in the face of no meaningful revenue, 
to forestall the financial impact on its employees while still meeting its 
fiscal responsibilities - deferring employee actions beyond that of many others 
in similar situations during this pandemic. The company continues to support 
its travel agent partners by paying commissions on canceled cruises and on 
future cruise credits when guests rebook. 
 
In addition to its continuing efforts to repatriate the many thousands of crew 
members still on its ships to their home countries, the company is also working 
closely with governments, regulatory agencies, health and infectious disease 
care experts around the globe to develop the best practice public health 
protocols to address the threat of COVID-19 for when guest operations resume. 
Repatriation efforts include chartered flights as well as rerouting its ships 
to crew home ports where those ships would not have otherwise sailed. The 
company is also working closely with its many destination partners as it 
continues to evaluate the best options and safety protocols for return to 
service. 
 
"Taking these extremely difficult employee actions involving our highly 
dedicated workforce is a very tough thing to do. Unfortunately, it's necessary, 
given the current low level of guest operations and to further endure this 
pause," said Carnival Corporation & plc President & CEO Arnold Donald. "We care 
deeply about all our employees and understanding the impact this is having on 
so many strengthens our resolve to do everything we can to return to operations 
when the time is right. We look forward to the day when many of those impacted 
are returning to work with us and we look forward to the day, when appropriate, 
that once again our ships and crew are delighting millions of people at sea and 
we can be there for the many nations and millions of people who depend on the 
cruise industry for their livelihood. 
 
Added Donald, "We also want to thank our guests for their many thoughtful notes 
and overall outpouring of support. It is clear there is tremendous anticipation 
for a return to cruising. It's also encouraging to note that the majority of 
guests affected by our schedule changes want to sail with us at a later date, 
with fewer than 38 percent requesting refunds to date. Our booking trends for 
the first half of 2021, which remain within historical ranges, demonstrate the 
resilience of our brands and the strength of our loyal recurring customer base, 
of which 66% are repeat cruisers.  In addition, we plan to stagger fleet 
reentry to optimize demand and operating performance over time." 
 
The cruise industry is a significant contributor to the U.S. and global tourism 
sectors, according to the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), with 
economic impact in the U.S. exceeding well over $50 billion in total 
contributions. On a global scale, the economic output due to the cruise 
industry continues to produce new jobs and income, generating a total global 
output of over $150 billion and supporting over 1.2 million total jobs. 
 
About Carnival Corporation & plc 
Carnival Corporation & plc is the world's largest leisure travel company with a 
portfolio of nine of the world's leading cruise lines. With operations in North 
America, Australia, Europe and Asia, its portfolio features Carnival Cruise 
Line, Princess Cruises, Holland America Line, Seabourn, P&O Cruises 
(Australia), Costa Cruises, AIDA Cruises, P&O Cruises (UK) and Cunard. 
 
Additional information can be found on www.carnival.com, www.princess.com, 
www.hollandamerica.com, www.seabourn.com, www.pocruises.com.au, 
www.costacruise.com, www.aida.de, www.pocruises.com and www.cunard.com. 
 
CONTACT: Roger Frizzell, Carnival Corporation, rfrizzell@carnival.com, (305) 
406-7862; Mike Flanagan, LDWW, mike@ldwwgroup.com, (727) 452-4538 
 
 
 
END 
 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 14, 2020 08:09 ET (12:09 GMT)

Carnival (LSE:CCL)
Historical Stock Chart
From Feb 2024 to Mar 2024 Click Here for more Carnival Charts.
Carnival (LSE:CCL)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2023 to Mar 2024 Click Here for more Carnival Charts.