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| Carnival Corporation, parent company of Carnival Cruise Lines (the Carnival Breeze shown above) reported higher second quarter earnings for 2016. // Photo by Susan J. Young |
Carnival Corporation announced record second quarter 2016 adjusted net income of $370 million versus $193 million for the same period a year ago.
For the second quarter of 2016, U.S. GAAP net income (based on generally accepted accounting principles), which included unrealized gains on fuel derivatives of $242 million and $7 million of other expenses, was $605 million, versus $222 million for the previous year.
However you look at it, net income for the world's largest cruise company was up for the quarter. Revenues for the second quarter of 2016 were $3.7 billion compared to $3.6 billion for the prior year.
Arnold Donald, president and CEO, Carnival Corporation, said: “Our strong second quarter demonstrates continued momentum as we again achieved a near doubling of adjusted earnings per share. Our ongoing effort to drive demand for our brands in excess of our measured capacity growth has led to increased revenues and helped maintain the mid-point of our full year earnings guidance despite the recent currency movements and rises in fuel prices that combined represent a negative $0.17 per share.”
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| Cunard's Queen Mary 2 // Photo by Cunard |
Donald also noted several major milestones during the quarter, including the re-mastering of Cunard Line's Queen Mary 2, the start of voyages from Miami to Cuba by Fathom, the opening of Holland America Line’s Denali square complex in Alaska and the introduction of several new ships -- Holland America's Koningsdam, Carnival Cruise Line’s Carnival Vista and AIDA Cruises’ AIDAprima for the German market.
Key metrics for the second quarter 2016 compared to the prior year were as follows:
- On a constant currency basis, net revenue yields (net revenue per available lower berth day or “ALBD”) increased 3.6 percent for the second quarter 2016, which was better than the company’s guidance of up 1.5 to 2.5 percent. Gross revenue yields increased 1.3 percent.
- Net cruise costs excluding fuel per ALBD decreased 1.9 percent in constant currency, compared to March guidance, up .5 to 1.5 percent due to the timing of expenses between quarters. Gross cruise costs including fuel per ALBD in current dollars decreased 5.4 percent.
- Changes in fuel prices (including fuel derivatives) and currency exchange rates contributed $.04 per share to second quarter earnings.
2016 Outlook
Carnival Corporation said that cumulative advance bookings for its brands for the remainder of the year are well ahead of the prior year at slightly higher prices.
Since March, bookings for the remainder of the year are at higher prices with volumes running lower than last year because there is less inventory remaining for sale than at this time in 2015.
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| A guest corridor on Costa Cruises, a Carnival Corporation brand. // Photo by Susan J. Young |
The company expects full year 2016 net revenue yields on a constant currency basis to be up approximately 3.5 percent versus the prior year, compared to March guidance of approximately 3 percent.
The company now expects full year 2016 net cruise costs excluding fuel per ALBD (available lower berth day) to be up approximately 1.5 percent compared to the prior year on a constant currency basis. That's better than March guidance of approximately 2.0 percent.
Changes in fuel prices (including fuel derivatives) and currency exchange rates are expected to reduce full year earnings by $0.17 per share compared to March guidance.
Taking the above factors into consideration, the company expects full year 2016 adjusted earnings per share guidance to be in the range of $3.25 to $3.35, compared to March guidance of $3.20 to $3.40 and 2015 adjusted earnings of $2.70 per share.
“This is shaping up to be another strong year for our company as we expect over 20 percent earnings growth and are approaching a nine percent return on invested capital," said Donald. "We have accelerated progress toward our stated goal of achieving the double digit return threshold and have accelerated distributions to shareholders. We recently raised our dividend by 17 percent to over $1 billion per year. Since October, we have repurchased nearly $1.9 billion in shares under our stock repurchase program. Yesterday, our Board of Directors approved our third $1 billion share repurchase authorization demonstrating confidence in our outlook and reinforcing our commitment to return value to shareholders.”
Third Quarter 2016 Outlook
Third quarter constant currency net revenue yields are expected to be up 2 to 3 percent compared to the prior year. Net cruise costs excluding fuel per ALBD for the third quarter are expected to be 6 to 7 percent higher on a constant currency basis compared to the prior year driven by the timing of advertising expense and the re-mastering of Queen Mary 2 in dry-dock.
Changes in fuel prices (including fuel derivatives) and currency exchange rates are expected to increase third quarter earnings by $0.01 per share compared to the prior year.
Based on the above factors, the company expects adjusted earnings for the third quarter 2016 to be in the range of $1.83 to $1.87 per share versus 2015 adjusted earnings of $1.75 per share.