Carnival Corporation & Plc to More Than Double Quarterly Dividend

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Jan 20, 2011, 09:15 ET

MIAMI, Jan. 20, 2011 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK) today announced an increase in its regular quarterly dividend to $0.25 per share from $0.10 per share.

"Considering the current economic climate, our ability to more than double our dividend just a year after its reinstatement is a remarkable testament to the resilience of our global cruise brands and our confidence in the future of our business," said Micky Arison, Carnival Corporation & plc chairman and CEO. "Given our projected increase in cash from operations, expected to exceed $4 billion in 2011, combined with lower capital investment commitments due to the slower pace of our newbuild program, the company will begin generating significant free cash flow in 2011 and beyond," he added.

The company's boards of directors approved a record date for the quarterly dividend of February 18, 2011, and a payment date of March 11, 2011. 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 March 1, 2011. 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 February 18, 2011.

Carnival Corporation & plc is the largest cruise vacation group in the world, with a portfolio of cruise brands in North America, Europe, Australia and Asia, comprised of Carnival Cruise Lines, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, Seabourn, AIDA Cruises, Costa Cruises, Cunard, Ibero Cruises, P&O Cruises (UK) and P&O Cruises (Australia).

Together, these brands operate 98 ships totaling more than 191,000 lower berths with 10 new ships scheduled to be delivered between March 2011 and May 2014. Carnival Corporation & plc also operates Holland America Princess Alaska Tours, the leading tour company 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.

SOURCE Carnival Corporation & plc