Hawaii cruise
line parent’s net
up 43.8%

A strong demand for spring
vacations kept occupancy high

By Russ Lynch
Star-Bulletin

Helped by a strong vacation market, American Classic Voyages Co. said today it had a 43.8 percent increase in second-quarter income.

The parent of American Hawaii Cruises and Delta Queen Steamboat Co. today reported a profit of $2.3 million, or 13 cents a share, for the three months through June 30, up from a profit of $1.6 million, or 11 cents a share, in the 1998 quarter. The results beat Wall Street analysts' expectations, helping lift the company's stock 75 cents to $24.25 in Nasdaq trading.

Second-quarter revenues of $55.2 million were up 3.2 percent from a year-earlier $53.5 million.

The company said it expects strong business for the rest of the year. Its round-the-islands Hawaii cruises on the S.S. Independence are overbooked for the second half of 1999 and its Delta Queen riverboat cruises on the mainland are 86 percent booked, the company said.

The Chicago-based cruise line is on an expansion track. It has ordered two 1,900-passenger cruise ships for its Hawaii cruises at more than $400 million each, as well as five 226-passenger ships for Delta Queen to use in mainland coastal cruises.

The first new mainland vessel, the Columbia Queen, is scheduled to go into service in April in the Pacific Northwest and has already attracted strong consumer and travel-agent interest, said American Classic CEO Philip C. Calian.

The first of the new Hawaii vessels is scheduled for delivery in January 2003 and the second a year later.