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| (c) 2011 Carnival Corporation |
Carnival Corporation reported net income of $1.3 billion on revenues of $5.1 billion for the third quarter ended Aug. 31, 2011. That compares with $1.3 billion in net income and revenues of $4.5 billion for the same quarter a year ago.
Carnival Corp’s Chairman and CEO Micky Arison said earnings were better than anticipated due to higher than expected revenue yields and lower than expected costs in the third quarter.
Cruise ticket prices for the peak summer season remained strong close to sailing dates; that created an overall 2.6 percent yield improvement.
“Our North American brands [in particular] performed well, achieving an almost 6 percent yield increase,” Arison stressed.
In turn, the company’s European, Australian and Asian brand yields fell 2 percent, due primarily to geo-political unrest in the Middle East and North Africa.
Higher revenue yields overall, though, helped offset a 45 percent increase in fuel prices.
As far as future outlook, the company said that cumulative advance bookings for the rest of the year and through the first half of 2012 are reflecting higher prices with slightly lower occupancies compared to the prior year.
Upon learning about the earnings report, Robin Farley, who analyzes the cruise industry for UBS Warburg, told her firm’s investors that it’s notable that Carnival Corp brands’ “new bookings since June are trending better in price and volume versus [the period] prior to June.”
“Despite the uncertain economic environment, we have a strong base of business for the first half of 2012, and booking trends during the third quarter have been solid,” stressed Arison. “The increased level of importance consumers are placing on value continues to drive demand for our cruise products.”
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