SEATTLE, Aug. 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Ambassadors
International, Inc. (the "Company") (Nasdaq: AMIE) announced today
its financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2010.
Key Highlights
Ambassadors reduced its net loss by $16.8
million for the three months ended June 30, 2010 as compared to the three months
ended June 30, 2009.
Total revenue from continuing operations for the three months
ended June 30, 2010 was $13.4 million, compared to $14.6 million for the three months ended
June 30, 2009. The decrease in
revenue was primarily due to the global economic conditions over
the last twelve months which impacted both occupancy rates and
price points of ticket sales during the second quarter of 2010.
Cruise operating expenses were $12.2
million for the three months ended June 30, 2010 compared to $12.5 million for the three months ended
June 30, 2009. The decrease in cruise
operating expenses was due to reduced passenger counts and
efficiencies gained in cruise operations. The reduction in costs
was partially offset by an increase in fuel prices in 2010.
Net loss for the three months ended June
30, 2010 was $5.2 million
compared to a net loss of $22.0
million for the three months ended June 30, 2009.
2010 Outlook
"The Company continues to reduce its operating loss and remains
focused on strengthening our financial position with the goal of
becoming profitable," said Hans
Birkholz, CEO of Ambassadors International, Inc., and
Windstar Cruises. "For the second half of the year, we are on track
for growth, experiencing positive improvement in per diems and load
factors and we anticipate approximately an 11 percent improvement
in revenue as compared to the second half of 2009."
"We believe that the Company has adequate liquidity to feel
comfortable about our liquidity position," said Birkholz.
"Furthermore, we currently have the full availability of our
$5 million revolving credit
facility."
2011 Outlook
Despite ongoing global economic conditions, the Company is
cautiously optimistic about its revenue prospects as evidenced by
Windstar's strong advance bookings and high repeat rate of past
guests. Bookings for charter and FIT business continue to increase
when compared to the same timeframe a year ago. "Windstar is an
award-winning product and we are confident that by actively
promoting Windstar's value proposition in conjunction with strong
offers will drive revenue," said Birkholz. "We are also very
excited about our new itineraries and the level of advance bookings
on them."
Nasdaq Update
As previously disclosed, the Company is currently not in
compliance with two of the applicable requirements for continued
listing of its common stock on the Nasdaq Global Market. Those
requirements are that the Company must have evidenced a closing bid
price of $1.00 or more for a minimum
of 10 consecutive trading days and that the Company must have
stockholders' equity of at least $10
million. The Company has received letters from the
Nasdaq staff formally notifying the Company of its failure to meet
these requirements. Stockholders approved a one-for-eight
reverse stock split at the Company's annual meeting on July 30, 2010, in order to regain compliance with
the bid price requirement. This reverse stock split is
expected to take effect in late August
2010. Following the implementation of the reverse
stock split, stockholders holding common stock certificates will
receive a letter of transmittal from the Company's transfer agent,
BNY Mellon Shareowner Services, or from their broker with specific
instructions regarding the exchange of stock certificates.
Additional details related to the reverse stock split may be
obtained from the Company's Proxy Statement dated June 30, 2010, a copy of which is available
online on the Company's website under "SEC Filings." The Company
has been invited to present its views with respect to the
stockholders' equity requirement to the Nasdaq Listing
Qualifications Panel, and the Company intends to do so shortly.
Conference Call Scheduled
Ambassadors International, Inc. will host a conference call to
discuss the results of operations on Friday,
August 13, 2010 at 2:00 p.m. Eastern
Time. Interested parties may join the call by dialing (877)
842-7102, conference ID #: AMIE. The conference call may also by
joined via the Internet at http://www.ambassadors.com. For
conference replay access, parties may dial (800) 642-1687,
conference ID #:93427967 and follow the prompts. Post-call replay
will be available two days following the completion of our
call.
About Ambassadors International, Inc.
Ambassadors International, Inc. is primarily a cruise company
with headquarters in Seattle,
Washington. The Company operates Windstar Cruises, a
three-ship fleet of luxury yachts that explore the hidden harbors
and secluded coves of the world's most sought-after destinations.
Carrying just 148 to 312 guests, the luxurious ships of Windstar
cruise to nearly 50 nations, calling at 100 ports throughout
Europe, the Caribbean and the Americas. In this
press release, any reference to "Company," "Ambassadors,"
"management," "we," "us" and "our" refers to Ambassadors
International, Inc. and its management team.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements that are
based on our current expectations and entail various risks and
uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ
materially from those suggested in our forward-looking statements.
We believe that such risks and uncertainties include, among others,
our ability to refinance our debt or to obtain additional financing
at reasonable rates; our ability to continue to operate as a going
concern; our ability to effectively and efficiently operate our
cruise business; customer cancellation rates; competitive
conditions in the industry in which we operate; marketing expenses;
extreme weather conditions; the impact of new laws and regulations
affecting our business; negative incidents involving cruise ships,
including those involving the health and safety of passengers;
cruise ship maintenance problems; reduced consumer demand for
vacations and cruise vacations; changes in fuel, food, payroll,
insurance and security costs; changes in relationships with certain
travel providers; changes in vacation industry capacity; and other
economic factors and other considerations affecting the travel
industry; potential of our common stock not listed on a US national
securities exchange or quoted on an established automated over the
counter trading market in the US exchange; and other factors
discussed more specifically in our annual, quarterly and current
reports filed with the SEC on Forms 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K. We are
providing this information as of the date of this release and do
not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking
statements contained in this document as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise.
Additional Information
For further information, please contact Tammy Smolkowski of Ambassadors International,
Inc. at (206) 292-9606.
SOURCE Ambassadors International, Inc.
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