A Few Words about Australia

During yesterday's earnings call to discuss Carnival's third quarter results, after mentioning the sale of three less-efficient ships during the year, CEO Arnold Donald said, “For that end, we have taken a write-off on assets currently deployed in Australia, which are less efficient with the intention of replacing those assets with more efficient vessels over time. ... P&O Australia generates revenue yields, both ticket and onboard, in line with our other brands in Australia, however, they have a higher operating cost in Australia and a disproportionate number of less-efficient assets."

Later during the call he said, "The write-down was strictly related to less-efficient vessels in the plan to put more efficient vessels there all the time. Australia is a strong market, has been for us and will continue to be and we are looking forward over time, you know the ships will come out over time and we will replace them all the time with more efficient capacity."

That was all that was said. It wasn't a major topic of discussion during the hour-and-fifteen-minute call, but later in the day, Carnival Australia released details of a series of ships that would either transfer brands or be reassigned to Australia by brands that sail there. The changes clearly demonstrate that Carnival sees the Australian market has become a major player in producing for the company.

The complete story appeared in the September 27 edition of Cruise News Daily.