Carnival Corporation & plc, the largest cruise company in the world, has selected SunGard’s SaaS*-based Kiodex commodities risk management solution to help monitor and manage its fuel derivatives program.
Carnival Corporation & plc uses Kiodex to independently price and value its fuel derivative trades and positions, helping ensure pre-trade fair value and proper post-trade counterparty valuations. Kiodex helps the company produce reports in multiple formats, allowing them to more quickly distribute critical risk management information to decision makers.
Carnival Corporation & plc owns 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 (Australia) and P&O Cruises (UK).
David Bernstein, senior vice president and chief financial officer, Carnival Corporation & plc, said, “We made a strategic decision to initiate a fuel derivatives program in order to mitigate a portion of our economic risk attributable to fuel price increases. SunGard’s Kiodex provides us with tools to properly value and report the program’s results in an efficient and timely manner. Because of Kiodex’s SaaS delivery model and their quantitative analysts, who monitor the various fuel curves, we were up and running very quickly and are benefiting from reduced costs associated with ongoing maintenance and IT support.”
Kirk Howell, chief operating officer for SunGard’s Kiodex business unit, said, “Volatility in fuel prices can significantly affect the bottom line of cruise lines and other transportation providers. SunGard’s Kiodex helps firms like Carnival Corporation & plc clearly understand the extent of their fuel exposures and take action to minimize them.”
* SunGard Financial Systems is transforming the way its software solutions are created and delivered to its customers. With the introduction of a new visionary, integrated technology blueprint, new delivery models are created and additional functionality embedded. Underlying technologies include a service-oriented architecture (SOA) development framework, a business process management platform (Infinity Process Platform) and a delivery platform to enable Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) based solutions.