By Frank Cho
Advertiser Staff Writer
American Classic Voyages Co. said yesterday that losses widened to nearly $6 million in the fourth quarter, driven by expenses related to the refitting of its Patriot cruise ship and increased marketing costs.
The Chicago-based cruise company reported a net loss for the quarter ended Dec. 31 of $6 million, or 28 cents a share, compared with a net loss of $33,000, or less than 1 cent, in the same year-earlier period. The losses last quarter were in line with analysts’ estimates of 28 cents a share.
Revenues were up 11.5 percent to $61.9 million in the final quarter of 2000, from $55.5 million in the same 1999 quarter, the company said.
But American Classic reported that startup costs of $3.9 million in the same quarter, primarily related to the Dec. 9 start of the Patriot’s round-the-Islands cruises, offset some of those gains. The company also said it spent $2.8 million for marketing in the fourth quarter. The final quarter of 1999 did not include any startup costs.
"While we feel positive about our year-over-year revenue increase, the real progress in AMCV lies in the continued execution of our expansion plans," Phil Calian, American Classic’s chief executive, said in a written statement.
The company’s United States Lines subsidiary will add a new 1,900-passenger liner to the Hawai‘i market in early 2003, and another in 2004.
American Classic reported fares for Hawai‘i bookings for the first half of 2001 are running $172 per passenger per night, down 24 percent from a year earlier.
The company said it has had to discount its Hawai‘i cruises to absorb a 140 percent increase in capacity with the arrival of the 1,212-passenger Patriot, the first vessel under its new United States Lines brand, in addition to its existing 860-passenger Independence, which operates under the American Hawaii Cruises brand.
"We have implemented aggressive pricing structures across all of our brands, which can be adjusted quickly as demand changes," Calian said. "As a result, while we see lower fare per diems in the first half of this year compared to 2000, we have given ourselves the flexibility to raise per diems in the second half of the year as demand increases."
American Classic’s stock closed at $15.50 on the Nasdaq yesterday, down 75 cents, or 4.6 percent, from Wednesday.
On an annual basis, American Classic reported a loss of $10.1 million, or 49 cents a share, compared with a loss of $1.8 million, or 10 cents a share, in 1999.
Frank Cho can be reached by phone at 525-8088, or by e-mail at fcho@honoluluadvertiser.com
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