Carnival Corporation & plc Increases Quarterly Dividend And Authorizes Additional $1 Billion Share Repurchase Program

MIAMI, April 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK)   has announced a 14 percent increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.40 per share from the previous dividend amount of $0.35 per share.

Additionally, the company's board approved the re-authorization of up to $1 billion in share repurchases covering both Carnival Corporation common stock and Carnival plc ordinary shares. Since resuming the share repurchase program in late 2015 the company has repurchased more than 56 million shares valued at $2.7 billion.

"The increased dividend, along with another $1 billion share repurchase authorization, reflects continued confidence in our outlook and our ongoing commitment to return value to our shareholders," said David Bernstein, chief financial officer for Carnival Corporation & plc.

The board approved a record date for the quarterly dividend of May 26, 2017 with a payment date of June 16, 2017. 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 June 1, 2017.  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 May 26, 2017. 

The share repurchase authorization covers both Carnival Corporation common stock traded on the New York Stock Exchange and Carnival plc ordinary shares traded on the London Stock Exchange. Repurchases will take place in the open market or privately negotiated transactions in accordance with applicable laws, rules and regulations. The stock repurchase is subject to prevailing market conditions and other considerations.

Carnival Corporation & plc is among the largest, most profitable and financially strong leisure travel companies in the world, with a portfolio of 10 cruise brands in North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia, comprised of Carnival Cruise Line, Fathom, Holland America Line, Princess, Seabourn, AIDA Cruises, Costa Cruises, Cunard, P&O Cruises (Australia) and P&O Cruises (UK).

Together, these brands operate 103 ships visiting over 700 ports around the world and totaling 230,000 lower berths with 18 new ships scheduled to be delivered between 2017 and 2022. Carnival Corporation & plc also operates Holland America Princess Alaska 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 can be found on www.carnival.com, www.fathom.org, www.hollandamerica.com, www.princess.com, www.seabourn.com, www.aida.de, www.costacruise.com, www.cunard.com, www.pocruises.com.au and www.pocruises.com.

SOURCE Carnival Corporation & plc