Cruise line
sees lower profits

Lower occupancy and fares
hurt American Classic Voyages' income

By Russ Lynch
Star-Bulletin

American Hawaii Cruises' parent company, American Classic Voyages Co., today reported a fourth-quarter 1997 profit of $470,000, or 3 cents a share, compared with a profit of $22.4 million, or $1.59 a share, in the final quarter of 1996.

Much of the slide, however, was because the 1996 quarter had included a one-time profit of $11.7 million from the sale of the Maison Dupuy hotel in New Orleans.

Also contributing to the difference was $700,000 in expenses in the latest quarter, which ended Dec. 31, for the work that went into planning for expanded capacity at American Hawaii.

The company has been looking for a vessel to replace the S.S. Constitution, which was taken out of the Hawaii round-the-islands cruise service in 1996 and subsequently sold late year after a massive financial write-down.

From operations alone, American Classic reported a profit of $2.3 million for the latest quarter, compared with $4.2 million in the year-earlier quarter. Lower fares and lower occupancy hurt operating income, the company said.

The company's remaining Hawaii vessel, the 867-passenger S.S. Independence, is 90 percent booked for the first half of 1998 at an average rate of $217 per person per night, the company said.

Based in Chicago, American Classic also operates paddlewheel steamboat vacations on U.S. inland waterways through its Delta Queen Steamboat Co. aboard the Delta Queen, the Mississippi Queen and the American Queen. Those vessels are 80 percent booked for the first half at a rate of $265 per passenger night, the company said.

"American Hawaii is continuing to move forward with its plans for added capacity and Delta Queen is pursuing its own growth path," said Philip C. Calian, American Classic chief executive officer.