Carnival posts $1.3 billion profit

Cruise line expects to take a year-end hit from hurricanes

DORAL — It’s been a disruptive few weeks for cruise lines as three major hurricanes — Maria, Irma and Harvey — forced many to relocate ships or shorten itineraries to avoid the massive storms and bypass severely impacted ports.

On Tuesday, cruise giant Carnival Corp. & PLC said it expects the voyage disruptions from temporary port closures to reduce its fourth-quarter earnings by an estimated 10 cents to 12 cents per share.

But despite the disruptions, strong consumer demand this year and a positive third quarter are expected to mitigate the negative impact on future earnings, company officials said. The conclusion appeared to encourage investors as they pushed the company’s shares up nearly 3 percent to $65.31 in trading Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange.

Carnival, billed as the world’s largest leisure travel company, reported thirdquarter profit of $1.3 billion, or $1.83 per share, for the fiscal period ending Aug. 31. That compared to $1.4 billion, or $1.93 per share posted a year ago.

Revenue in the quarter rose to $5.5 billion from $5.1 billion last year.

“We delivered another consecutive quarter of strong operational improvement and another third quarter adjusted earnings record,” Arnold Donald, company president and CEO, said. “Our record results, coupled with strong booking trends, have more than offset the anticipated earnings impact from these weather disruptions.”

Both adjusted earnings per share and revenue of $2.29 and $5.5 billion revenue beat analysts estimates, according to Zacks Equity Research. Its analysts had expected earnings of $2.20 per share and revenue of $5.4 billion.