By Grace Vanaik and Doinsola Oladipo
(Reuters) – Carnival Corp on Wednesday raised its full-year profit forecast, saying the company expects a record year for bookings as more people seek first-time cruise vacations.
Cruise lines are seeing record booking rates, giving them more room to raise prices, as more travelers switch to cheaper ship experiences rather than expensive land travel such as hotel and flight reservations. ing.
The company’s U.S.-listed shares were flat amid volatile trading. It’s up about 94% over the past 12 months.
“Overall, we had great results in the first quarter,” CEO Josh Weinstein said on a post-earnings conference call. “This quarter was another great start to the year with record bookings and record customer deposits.”
The company’s first-quarter sales rose 22% to $5.41 billion, roughly in line with analysts’ expectations.
The company said bookings for the remainder of 2024 remain the best year on record, with total customer deposits reaching $7 billion in the first quarter. Carnival said new cruise customers surged more than 30% year over year.
Adjusted cruise costs (excluding constant currency fuel costs) in the first quarter increased 7.3% from the same period last year, 2% below company expectations.
“Unlike last quarter, when the beat was revenue-driven, it was cost items that drove the beat in the first quarter,” Patrick Sholes, an analyst at Trust Securities, said in a note.
However, more than $250 million in cost improvements were offset by a $130 million hit from ship rerouting in the Red Sea region, higher fuel prices and exchange rates, said CFO David Bernstein. said.
The cruise line raised its expected impact from the Red Sea disruption to $0.08 per share from $0.07, up from its January estimate of $0.09.
Carnival also estimated that its full-year adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net income could be impacted by up to $10 million following the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore on Tuesday.
The cruise company now expects full-year adjusted earnings of 98 cents per share, compared with its previous estimate of 93 cents. Analysts on average had expected earnings of $1 per share, according to LSEG data.
Carnival had an adjusted net loss of 14 cents per share, compared with analysts’ expectations of 18 cents.
(Reporting by Granth Vanaik in Bangalore and Doinsola Oladipo in New York; Editing by Shriraj Karuvilla)
