SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, DC 20549
FORM 6-K
REPORT OF FOREIGN PRIVATE ISSUER
PURSUANT TO RULE 13a-16 OR 15d-16 OF
THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the month of April, 2005
CP SHIPS LIMITED
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(Translation of Registrant's Name Into English)
2 City Place, Beehive Ring Road, Gatwick, West Sussex, RH6 0PA, United Kingdom
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(Address of Principal Executive Offices)
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual
reports under cover of Form 20-F or Form 40-F.
Form 20-F____ Form 40-F X
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant by furnishing the
information contained in this form is also thereby furnishing the information
to the Commission pursuant to Rule 12g3-2(b) under the Securities Exchange Act
of 1934.
Yes______ No X
(If "Yes" is marked, indicate below the file number assigned to the
registrant in connection with Rule 12g3-2(b): 82-____________.
This report furnished on Form 6-K shall be incorporated by reference into
each of the following Registration Statements under the Securities Act of 1933
of the registrant:
Form S-8 No. 333-13954
Page 1 of 5 Pages
Exhibits Index appears on Page 3
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934,
the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
CP SHIPS LIMITED
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(Registrant)
Date: 28 April 2005
By: /s/ JOHN M. BAKER
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Name: John M. Baker
Title: Secretary
Exhibits Index
The following is a list of Exhibits included as part of this Report on Form
6-K.
Description of Exhibit Page
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10.1 Press Release of CP Ships Limited "CP SHIPS 4
ADOPTS A SINGLE BRAND " dated
28 April 2005
Exhibit 10.1
CP SHIPS ADOPTS A SINGLE BRAND
GATWICK, UK (28th April 2005) - CP Ships Limited today announced that it plans
to re-brand its container shipping services under the CP Ships name and retire
its seven operating brands by the end of the year.
"We are listening to our customers and our own people," said Chairman Ray
Miles. "They have told us they prefer us to simplify our business and trade
under a single brand."
Since 1993, CP Ships has acquired nine container shipping companies, seven of
whose brands are currently active: ANZDL, Canada Maritime, Cast, Contship
Containerlines, Italia Line, Lykes Lines and TMM Lines.
"As CP Ships developed, multiple branding was a key element of our core
strategy. It helped us maintain customer loyalty and build further on strong
regional positions after each acquisition. Our aims, which we achieved, were
not to lose any business when we acquired a new line and then make the
business grow. But now that our acquisitions are fully integrated and will be
on the same operational and financial systems later in the year, it is time to
move on," Mr Miles added.
All other aspects of CP Ships' core strategy remain unchanged, including its
regional focus with strong market positions and building investment capacity
to manage through the industry cycle and make business and asset acquisitions
when conditions are right.
Service schedules and trade lane coverage will not be affected.
"A single CP Ships brand presents many opportunities. It will help us to
streamline our corporate structure, improve further our accounting and related
business processes and information systems, save costs, strengthen our company
culture and more closely align how we communicate with all of our customers.
We look forward to re-establishing the historic CP Ships brand," Mr Miles
said.
A project team has been established to steer the many aspects of the
re-branding process which will take place over the remainder of the year. Alan
Boylan, EVP Commercial, has overall responsibility for re-branding. As part of
this, CP Ships is developing a new website to meet the needs of customers,
investors
and others, all from a single platform. Until the re-branding is complete, the
existing corporate website and the seven brand websites will function as
normal.
-ends-
ABOUT CP SHIPS
One of the world's leading container shipping companies, CP Ships provides
international container transportation services in four key regional markets:
TransAtlantic, Australasia, Latin America and Asia. Within these markets CP
Ships operates 39 services in 23 trade lanes. As of 31st December 2004, CP
Ships' vessel fleet was 79 ships and its container fleet 460,000 teu. Its 2004
volume was 2.3 million teu, more than 80% of which was North American exports
or imports. It also owns Montreal Gateway Terminals, which operates one of the
largest marine container terminal facilities in Canada. CP Ships is listed on
the Toronto and New York stock exchanges under the symbol (TEU) and also in
the S&P/TSX 60 Index of top Canadian publicly listed companies. For further
information visit the CP Ships website at www.cpships.com.
FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS
This press release contains certain forward-looking information and statements
within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform
Act of 1995 relating, but not limited to, operations, anticipated or
prospective financial performance, results of operations, business prospects
and strategies of CP Ships. Forward-looking information typically contains
statements with words such as "consider", "anticipate", "believe", "expect",
"plan", "intend", "likely" or similar words suggesting future outcomes or
statements regarding an outlook on future changes in volumes, freight rates,
costs, achievable cost savings, the estimated amounts and timing of capital
expenditures, anticipated future debt levels and incentive fees or revenue, or
other expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, assumptions, intentions or
statements about future events or performance. Readers should be aware that
these statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and
other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those
suggested by the forward-looking statements.
Although CP Ships believes it has reasonable basis for making the forecasts or
projections included in this press release, readers are cautioned not to place
undue reliance on such forward-looking information. By its nature, the
forward-looking information of CP Ships involves numerous assumptions,
inherent risks and uncertainties, both general and specific, that contribute
to the possibility that the predictions, forecast and other forward-looking
statements will not occur. These factors include, but are not limited to,
changes in business strategies; general global, political and economic and
business conditions, including the length and severity of any economic
slowdown in the countries and regions where CP Ships operates, including
seasonality, particularly in the United States, Canada, Latin America,
Australasia, Asia and Europe; the effects of competition and pricing
pressures; changes in freight rates; industry over-capacity; changes in demand
for container shipping; availability and cost of chartered ships; changes in
laws and regulations, including tax, environmental, employment, competition,
anti-terrorism and trade laws; difficulties in achieving cost savings;
currency exposures and exchange rate fluctuations, fuel price and interest
rate fluctuations; changes in access to capital markets and other sources of
financing; various events which could disrupt operations, including war, acts
of terrorism, severe weather conditions and external labour unrest, all of
which may be beyond CP Ships' insurance coverage; compliance with security
measures by governmental and industry trade practice groups, the outcome of
civil litigation related to CP Ships' restatement of financial results and the
impact of any resulting legal judgments, settlements and expenses, and CP
Ships' anticipation of and success in managing the risks associated with the
foregoing.
The above list of important factors affecting forward-looking information is
not exhaustive, and reference should be made to the other risks discussed in
CP Ships' filings with Canadian securities regulatory authorities and the US
Securities and Exchange Commission. CP Ships undertakes no obligation, except
as required by law, to update publicly or otherwise revise any forward-looking
information, whether as a result of new information, future events or
otherwise, or the above list of factors affecting this information.
CONTACTS
Investors
Jeremy Lee, VP Investor Relations & Public Affairs
Telephone: + 1 514 934 5254
Media
Elizabeth Canna, VP Group Communications
Telephone: +44 (0)1293 861 921 or +41 (0)79 691 3764