Cruise Analyst Sounds Off on Carnival Corporation's Brand Pricing and Booking Trends

What’s Ahead for 2014 and 2015 for Carnival Corporation? As the cruise industry moves into the second half of 2014, what does the “crystal ball” reveal?

From the research analysis and financial perspective of cruise industry analyst Robin Farley of UBS Investment Research (www.ubs.com), here are a few gleanings about Carnival Corporation, the world’s largest cruise company.

Continuing Softness in the Caribbean: “We believe Carnival Corporation has enough room in guidance for Caribbean softness in the second quarter 2014.”

The Solid Performance of Costa Cruises: “We also believe European strength from the Costa recovery will make that the best performing brand for Carnival Corporation this year.”

Upbeat Outlook for Carnival Corporation: “We expect the Carnival Corporation forward outlook should be upbeat as we head into the third quarter 2014, which is more heavily driven by high season itineraries like Europe and Alaska, which we think have improved as we have moved into summer.”

Yields Still Down from 2008: “We continue to see the 10 % points of yield below 2008 levels as the driver for Carnival Corp.’s yields in 2015.”

Carnival Corp’s Second Quarter Earnings: “We expect second quarter 2014 earnings per share of $0.02.”

Good Start for 2015: Farley also said the recent checks during its analysis all point to a good start to 2015 bookings and also strength in close-in bookings. “We believe cruise lines have been strategically base loading for 2015, now that the fire drills of pushing close-in sailings have subsided.”

Carnival Corporation is set to report second quarter earnings on Tuesday, June 24. UBS Warburg currently has a valuation on the firm’s stock of “buy” with a target price of $40.