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Sea Containers Annual Report 98

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Annual Report 1998 Sea Containers Ltd. 2860-AR-98 ANNUAL REPORT REVISED 5/5/99 3/6/99 4:50 pm Page 02 Sea Containers Ltd. Annual Report 1998 Contents Company description 2 Financial highlights 3 Directors and officers 4 President’s letter to shareholders 7 Pictured Left: The atrium Analysis of divisions: deck of the Silja Serenade, one of two sister ships operating nightly on the Passenger Transport 12 Stockholm-Helsinki route. Each ship has 986 cabins accommodating a total of Leisure 16 2,852 passengers. Extensive conference facilities are provided, along Containers 20 with seven restaurants, a nightclub, five pubs/bars and duty free shops. Each Pro p e r t y , Publishing and Plantations 24 ship makes a 36 hour round trip, making it into a mini-cruise while at the Fi n a n c e 26 same time offering fast overnight crossings for passengers, their cars and Financial review – SEC Form 10-K 29 freight vehicles. Front cover: The Silja Principal subsidiaries 83 Serenade and her sister ship Silja Symphony operate nightly between Shareholder and investor information 84 Helsinki and Stockholm departing at 6pm and arriving at 9am. From July 1, 1999 there will be a short stop in each direction in the Åland Islands which will qualify passengers for duty free allowances. The withdrawal of duty free allowances on other intra- European routes from July 1st should stimulate demand for the Silja services. ANNUAL REPORT REVISED 5/5/99 3/6/99 4:40 pm Page 04 Sea Containers Ltd. Sea Containers Ltd. is a Bermuda reg i s t e r ed company with regional operating offices in London, Genoa, New York City, Rio de Janeiro, Singapore and Sydney. The company is owned almost entirel y by U.S. shareholders and its primary listing is on the New York Stock Exchange. The company is engaged in three main businesses: passenger transport, leisure and marine container leasing. Passenger transport includes Hoverspeed (a fast car and London), five tourist trains in Europe, the U.K., Southeast Asia passenger ferry service between ports on the south coast of and Australia and a river cruise ship in Myanmar. Retailing and England, north e r n France and Belgium), SeaCat Scotland and publishing activities support these prop e rt i e s . SeaCat Scandinavia (fast car and passenger ferry services between No rt h e r n Ireland, Scotland and England and between Sweden and Marine container leasing is largely conducted through Denmark, respectively), The Isle of Man Steam Packet Company GE SeaCo SRL, a 50/50 joint venture with GE Capital Corporation (fast and conventional car, passenger and freight ferry servi c e of Stamford, Connecticut. The container fleets of Sea Containers between the Isle of Man and ports in England and Ireland, and a and GE Capital have been combined on the basis that 30% of the fast car and passenger ferry service between England and the pr ofits from containers in their fleets effective May, 1998 and 50% Republic of Ireland) and AA Line which operates a seasonal fr om containers acquired by both companies and by GE SeaCo conventional ferry service between Scotland and North e r n Irel a n d . after January 1, 1998 go to Sea Containers. GE SeaCo engages A 51% shareholding in Neptun Maritime Oyj, operating under the only in the operating lease business, i.e. it and its partners retain brand name Silja Line, was acquired in late April, 1999. Neptun ownership of the assets at the end of the lease. owns a fleet of nine ferries and three cruise ships. The ferri e s Sea Containers conducts a separate business of leasing marine operate primarily between ports in Finland and Sweden and containers to lessees in countries where GE Capital does not wish to between Finland and Estonia and Finland and Germa n y . The conduct business and also engages to a limited extent in finance cr uise vessels are bareboat charte r ed to other operators. SeaStrea k leases. Sea Containers owns or part-owns container repair and pr ovides fast ferry services between Wall St. in Manhattan, storage depots in Houston, Charleston, S.C., Singapore, Santos, Br ooklyn and New Jersey, employing three vessels. The Grea t Me l b o u r ne and Auckland which service the GE SeaCo and No r th Eastern Railway provides high speed passenger train servi c e s Sea Containers’ container fleets and containers owned by others. between London, England, and Scotland and major cities in Sea Containers also owns marine container manufacturing facilities in between. The passenger transport division also includes the ports England, Charleston, S.C., Singapore and Brazil. The Singapore and of Heysham, Newhaven and Folkestone in England, a joint venture Brazilian factories are currently mothballed or partially leased out. container shipping service between Wes t e r n Australia and Si n g a p o r e and two containerships and two roll-on, rol l - o f f Other activities. Sea Containers also engages in prop e rt y ca r goships which are employed in the charter market. Pacifica development, fruit farming in the Ivory Coast and Brazil, publishing Ship Management in Singapore and Hart, Fenton & Co. (naval and a business travel agency in the U.K. These activities are rel a t e d ar chitects) in England are units of this division. to the company’s main operations. For example, prop e r ty includes po r t development and company offices, fruit farming is linked to Le i s u r e includes 23 hotels in Southern Africa, South America, refrigerated container transport and the publishing unit prod u c e s No r th America, Europe, Australia and the South Pacific, two magazines for the many customers of ferry, rail and hotel services as restaurants (‘21’ Club in New York City and Harry’ s Bar in well as print for GE SeaCo and this annual rep o rt . 2 SEA CONTAINERS LTD. Financial highlights ’98 in brief 1998 1997 Change ■ Net income up 40% to $000 $000 % $58.7 million. ■ Earnings per common Revenue 1,266,566 1,157,153 9.5 share (diluted) up 50% to $3.11. Earnings before corporate and finance costs ■ GE SeaCo SRL became operational in May. Passenger transport operations 61,919 46,412 33.4 ■ Hoverspeed Holyman Ltd. commenced fast car and Leisure operations 49,465 46,162 7.2 passenger ferry services Container operations 75,386 66,757 12.9 between Dover, England and Ostend, Belgium in Other operations 76 1,234 (93.8) March. ■ Commenced SuperSeaCat Total 186,846 160,565 16.4 service on Liverpool, England to Dublin, Ireland route in March. Net earnings 58,684 42,018 39.7 ■ Total assets 2,314,455 2,126,100 8.9 GNER carried 14.2 million passengers, up 9.4%; Long-term obligations 1,510,278 1,365,565 10.6 revenue up 12.8% to $517 million. ■ Acquired Hotel Quinta do $ $%Lago in Faro, Portugal in June; acquired Lapa Palace Hotel in Lisbon, Portugal in July; opened Net earnings per class A and class B common share Westcliff Hotel in - basic 3.34 2.07 61.4 Johannesburg, South Africa in March; opened - diluted 3.11 2.07 50.2 Splendido Mare in Cash dividends per class A Portofino, Italy in June. common share 0.885 0.77 14.9 ■ Tourist trains reported Cash dividends per class B record operating profits of $3.1 million. common share 0.8045 0.70 14.9 3 Directors and Officers Ian Hilton Michael J. L. Robert M. James B. John D. W. Murray Philip J. R. Charles N.C. Consultant to Stracey Riggs Sherwood Campbell Grindrod Schlee Sherwood Appleby, Executive Member of President of Senior Chairman of Chairman of Partner of Spurling & Vice President Carter, the Counsel of Grindrod Robert Schroder Kempe (retired) and Ledyard & Company Appleby, Unicorn Group Anderson & Ventures (attorneys) Consultant to Milburn Spurling & Ltd. Co. Ltd. (a private the Company (attorneys) Kempe (a shipping (a private equity (attorneys) and investment investment transportation firm) firm) company) Photographed in the main banquet room of the Lapa Palace Hotel, Lisbon, Portugal. 4 SEA CONTAINERS LTD. Officers other than the President, left to right Edwin S. Hetherington Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary Robert S. Ward Senior Vice President, Containers Michael V. Scawn Vice President, Funding Christopher W. M. Garnett Vice President, Rail Stephen O. Whittam Vice President, Management Information Systems James A. Beveridge Vice President, Administration and Property Nicholas J. Novasic Vice President, Funding, North America Daniel J. O’Sullivan Senior Vice President, Finance and David G. Benson Senior Vice President, Passenger Transport Chief Financial Officer Simon M.C. Sherwood Senior Vice President, Leisure Regional Managers Franco Chresten A. Ian Robin Lynch Toby G. Grey delle Piane Bjerrum Routledge Regional Regional Regional Regional Regional Manager, Manager, Manager, Manager, Manager, North America South America Mediterranean Asia Australasia 5 6 SEA CONTAINERS LTD. President’s letter to shareholders May 1, 1999 9.4% in 1998 over 1997 to 14.2 million. Both The Isle of Man Steam Packet Company and Dear Shareholder, Hoverspeed Ltd., our English Channel ferry 1998 was a satisfactory year for your company. operator, also had excellent results. The new Revenue increased 9% to $1.27 billion, net Hoverspeed-Holyman joint venture on the income increased 40% to $58.7 million and Dover to Ostend Belgium route had a earnings per common share (diluted) increased satisfactory first year. Port profits were up over James B. Sherwood President 50% to $3.11, compared with 1997.
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