Carnival Posts Lower Cabin Revenue, Cuts Year Revenue Forecast

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Carnival Cruise Lines

Carnival, the world's largest cruise operator, on Friday reported a quarterly profit but posted a drop in the revenue each cabin generates and lowered its revenue forecast for the year, citing weakness in Europe and pricing promotions.

The company's forecast for the year also was below analysts' expectations, and shares fell 4.8 percent in early morning trading. (Click here to get the latest quotes.)

Carnival, which operates lines including Carnival Cruises and Holland America, reported net income of $37 million, or 5 cents per share, on revenue of $3.59 billion for the first quarter ended Feb. 28. That compares with a loss of $139 million, or 18 cents share on revenue of $3.58 billion a year earlier, when a deadly accident affecting one of its ships hit results.

Analysts had expected the Miami-based company to report earnings excluding items of 2 cents a share on $3.55 billion in revenue, according to a consensus estimate from Thomson Reuters.

The company, which has had to contend with several high-profile incidents involving its ships — including its Triumph vessel that was adrift for days in the Gulf of Mexico last month after an engine fire — said it now expects net revenue yields to be flat this year, down from an earlier forecast that they would rise 1 to 2 percent.

Carnival's upbeat earnings news countered news reports of a number of its cruise ships experiencing operational problems. After Carnival Dream suffered from problems with an on-board generator while docked in St. Maarten Thursday, the company said later in the day that "a technical issue" affecting the sailing speed of the Carnival Legend forced the cancellation of a stop at Grand Cayman Islands.