By Chelsey Dulaney
Carnival Corp. swung to a loss in its November quarter as
improvements to ticket prices and onboard spending were wiped out
by a heavy fuel derivative charge.
Still, Carnival gave an outlook for its newly started fiscal
year that met Wall Street's expectations, forecasting that benefits
from falling fuel costs would be offset in part by unfavorable
foreign exchange rates.
Carnival said it expects to post per-share earnings of $2.30 to
$2.60 a share for the year. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had
forecast $2.34 a share in earnings. For the current quarter,
Carnival forecast per-share earnings of 7 cents to 11 cents.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had expected 10 cents a
share.
The cruise ship company, which operates Carnival Cruise Lines as
well as the Princess, Cunard and Holland America lines, among
others, has benefited in recent quarters on broad-based booking
strength and firmer pricing. Carnival said Friday that advance
bookings for the first three quarters of 2015 are ahead of the
prior year at slightly higher prices.
For the period ended Nov. 30, Carnival posted a loss of $102
million, or 13 cents a share, compared with a profit of $66
million, or 8 cents a share, a year earlier. Excluding a $277
million fuel derivative cost and other items, per-share earnings
were 27 cents.
Carnival had expected to post per-share earnings of 15 cents to
19 cents.
Revenue climbed 1.6% to $3.72 billion, led by a 1.8% increase in
passenger ticket revenue to $2.75 billion.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had expected $3.81 billion in
revenue.
Net revenue yields--a measure of revenue relative to
capacity--improved 2.8%, excluding currency fluctuations, topping
Carnival's expectations for a 1.5% to 2.5% increase. Net cruise
costs, excluding fuel, fell 1.7%, compared with forecasts for a
decline of 1% to 2%.
Fuel prices fell 13% in the quarter, as consumption fell 4.8%
from the prior-year period.
On Wednesday, the company named travel industry veteran
Christine Duffy president of Carnival Cruise Lines, its largest
cruise brand.
Write to Chelsey Dulaney at Chelsey.Dulaney@wsj.com
Access Investor Kit for Carnival Plc
Visit
http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=GB0031215220
Access Investor Kit for Carnival Corp.
Visit
http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=PA1436583006
Access Investor Kit for Carnival Plc
Visit
http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=US14365C1036
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires