Carnival Corp. Reports First-Quarter Profits of $65 Million

By Theresa Norton Masek

Carnival Corp. & plc announced non-GAAP profits of $65 million, or 8 cents per share, the first quarter of 2013. That compares to net income of $13 million and 2 cents per share for the same period in 2012. Revenues for first-quarter 2013 were $3.6 billion, which is in line with last year.

Carnival Chairman and CEO Micky Arison noted that first quarter earnings were better than December guidance due to the timing of certain expenses partially offset by a 2-cent-per-share loss from voyage disruptions and related repair costs.

Carnival said cumulative advance bookings for 2013 at this time are behind the prior year at prices in line with the prior year levels. Since January, booking volumes for the remainder of the year, including Costa, are running “significantly higher than last year at slightly higher prices,” the company said.

“Booking volumes during our seasonally strong wave period have remained solid with pricing comparisons improving in recent weeks,” Arison said. “However, economic uncertainty in Europe continues to hinder yield growth.

“Despite considerable attention surrounding the Carnival Triumph, we had been encouraged to see booking volumes for Carnival Cruise Lines recover significantly in recent weeks. Attractive pricing promotions, combined with strong support from the travel agent community and consumers who recognize the company’s well-established reputation and quality product offering, were driving the strong booking volumes.”

The company forecasts full-year 2013 non-GAAP diluted earnings per share to be in the range of $1.80 to $2.10, compared to $1.88 per share last year.

“Our long-term business fundamentals remain strong as we broaden our customer base of new and repeat cruisers through attractive product offerings, high satisfaction levels and compelling value propositions,” Arison said. “We expect to drive return on invested capital higher through a measured pace of capacity growth and a continued focus on fuel consumption savings. We continue to expect over $3 billion of cash from operations this year and remain committed to returning free cash flow to shareholders in 2013 and beyond.”

Carnival said it expects earnings of 4 to 8 cents per share for the second quarter, compared to 20 cents per share in the same period last year.

Source: Travel Pulse, http://www.travelpulse.com/carnival-corp-reports-firstquarter-profits-of-65-million.html