Carnival is knocked by fuel prices
CRUISE operator Carnival has revealed an 18 per cent slip in second-quarter earnings, as higher fuel prices hit a growth in revenue.
The world’s largest cruise operator, which owns the Cunard brand, reported a pre-tax profit of $206m (£127m) for the quarter ended 31 May, down from $252m a year earlier.
The profit equates to 26 cents per share, above predicted earnings of between 20 cents and 24 cents the company made in March.
Revenues for the firm jumped 11 per cent to $3.6bn, beating analyst forecasts.
Carnival’s operating margin tightened to 7.7 per cent from 10.7 per cent, after high fuel prices pushed costs for the company about $150m higher than a year earlier.
The company lowered its full-year earnings estimate to between $2.40 to $2.60, compared to $2.47 per share a year earlier.
Carnival also said it had been hit by the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, as well as other geo-political events.
“Revenue yield improvement was more than offset by higher fuel prices which cost the company approximately $150 million, or $0.19 per share,” said Carnival chairman and chief executive Micky Arison.