Carnival Corp. Q1 Earnings: 2019 Bookings Trending Up

Carnival Corporation has released its first quarter earnings report, and while fuel prices and other costs are putting a drag on the cruise company’s net income, it says that bookings for the rest of 2019 are trending ahead of last year. 

“First quarter earnings included revenue growth from higher capacity and improved onboard spending, offset by the timing of cost increases and a drag from fuel prices and currency compared to the prior year,” said Carnival Corp. President and CEO Arnold Donald in a written statement. “First quarter adjusted earnings were better than the midpoint of December guidance by $0.07 per share.”

All told, the company saw U.S. GAAP net income of $336 million in the first quarter of 2019, down from $391 million the previous year. Revenues, however, were $4.7 billion, up from $4.2 billion the prior year. 

“Operationally, we continue to expect revenues and adjusted earnings per share improvements in line with our December guidance,” Donald said. “We expect adjusted earnings per share to be higher than the prior year, despite a $45 million, or $0.06 per share, year over year drag from currency and the price of fuel.”

Looking ahead to the rest of 2019, Carnival Corp. said that cumulative advance bookings are ahead of last year at comparable prices. As a result, even with the company’s increased capacity following the launch of AIDAnova and Costa Venezia, there is less inventory remaining for sale than at this time last year. 

Based on current booking trends, Carnival Corp. said that it expects constant currency net cruise revenues for 2019 to be up 5.5 percent, with capacity growth of 4.6 percent. 

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