Carnival Corporation & plc Increases Divide...
Carnival Corporation & plc Increases Dividend 14 Percent
MIAMI, Oct. 17 -- Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK) has
announced that it has increased its dividend 14 percent to $0.40 per share.
This marks the sixth increase in the past three years, with Carnival's dividend
more than tripling during that time period.
Carnival Corporation & plc Chairman Micky Arison noted that the dividend
increases reflect the company's solid top line growth and positive business
trends going into fiscal 2008. "We have tremendous confidence in the future of
our business. With 18 ships on order representing 27 percent capacity growth
through 2011, our first priority continues to be funding our newbuilding
program which is the primary platform for our brands' growth. Beyond that, we
are committed to returning cash to our shareholders through both increased
dividends and share repurchases as this action demonstrates, while maintaining
one of the highest credit ratings in the leisure sector," he said.
Carnival Corporation & plc is rated A3/A-/A- by Moody's, Standard & Poor's and
Fitch, respectively.
The boards approved a record date for the quarterly dividend of November 23,
2007, and a payment date of December 14, 2007.
Holders of Carnival Corporation common stock and Carnival plc ADSs will receive
the dividend payable in U.S. dollars. The dividend for Carnival plc ordinary
shares will be payable in U.S. dollars or sterling. In the absence of
instructions or elections to the contrary, holders of Carnival plc ordinary
shares will automatically receive the dividend in sterling.
Dividends payable in sterling will be converted from U.S. dollars at the
exchange rate quoted by the Bank of England in London at 12 noon on December 3,
2007. Holders of Carnival plc ordinary shares wishing to receive their dividend
in U.S. dollars or participate in the Carnival plc Dividend Reinvestment Plan
must elect to do so by November 23, 2007.
Carnival Corporation & plc is the largest cruise vacation group in the world,
with a portfolio of cruise brands in North America, Europe and Australia,
comprised of Carnival Cruise Lines, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises,
Seabourn Cruise Line, AIDA Cruises, Costa Cruises, Cunard Line, Iberocruceros,
Ocean Village, P&O Cruises and P&O Cruises Australia.
Together, these brands operate 84 ships totaling 156,000 lower berths with 18
new ships scheduled to enter service between December 2007 and June 2011.
Carnival Corporation & plc also operates Holland America Tours and Princess
Tours, the leading tour companies in Alaska and the Canadian Yukon. Traded on
both the New York and London Stock Exchanges, Carnival Corporation & plc is the
only group in the world to be included in both the S&P 500 and the FTSE 100
indices.
Additional information is available on-line at www.carnivalcorp.com and
www.carnivalplc.com.
SOURCE Carnival Corporation & plc
-0- 10/17/2007
/CONTACT: Media, Tim Gallagher, +1-305-599-2600 ext. 16000, or Investor
Relations, US/UK, Beth Roberts, +1-305-406-4832, both of Carnival Corporation &
plc; or UK, Sophie Fitton, or Sophie Brand, both of Brunswick Group,
+44-0-20-7404-5959/
/Web site: http://www.carnivalcorp.com
http://www.carnivalplc.com /
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