Carnival Corp. posts record revenue in the second quarter

Miami-based Carnival Corp. & PLC reported record revenue and adjusted earnings in the second quarter of 2018 but revised its projected earnings per share downward for the year amid changes in fuel prices and currency exchange rates.

The cruise giant reported adjusted net income of $489 million and $0.68 earnings per share, off total revenue of $4.36 billion in the second quarter of 2018 — beating the 2017 second-quarter record of $378 million in net income and $0.52 earnings per share.

In a statement, Carnival Corp. & PLC president and CEO Arnold Donald said, “Strong operational execution drove a 30 percent increase in adjusted earnings affirming the strength of our core strategy to create demand that outpaces measured capacity growth through outstanding guest experience efforts coupled with innovative actions to increase consideration for cruising across all global markets.”

Highlights from the second quarter include the company taking delivery of Carnival Horizon, Carnival Cruise Line’s 26th ship in its fleet, in March. In April, the company’s ultra-luxury brand Seabourn Cruise Line took delivery of its fifth allsuite ship Seabourn Ovation.

Carnival Cruise Line also received approval for more than 20 additional calls to Cuba, for a total of 40 in 2019 from Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, plus Port-Miami and ports in Tampa and Charleston, S.C. Passenger ticket revenue increased to $3.19 billion in the second quarter of 2018 from $2.87 billion in the prior year quarter, while revenue from onboard sales increased from $1.04 billion to $1.12 billion over the same period.

Carnival Corp. & PLC’s 10 cruise lines carried 2.97 million passengers during the second quarter compared with 2.91 million during the same quarter a year earlier.

The company said it was decreasing its earnings outlook for the year by $0.19 compared with its March guidance and $0.13 compared with the previous year, because of changes in fuel prices and currency exchange rates.

The company now expects full-year adjusted earnings per share to be in the range of $4.15 to $4.25 compared with $3.82 in 2017. Still, the company expects fullyear 2018 net revenue yields to increase 3 percent.