Carnival first quarter income up
First quarter income for cruise giant Carnival Corporation & plc beat its own December guidance, but the company has
nonetheless scaled back its earnings guidance for the full year.
Carnival reported net income of $260 million, or $0.33 diluted EPS, on revenues of $2.9 billion for its first quarter
ended February 28, 2009. Net income for the first quarter of 2008 was $236 million, or $0.30 diluted EPS, on revenues
of $3.2 billion.
Chairman and CEO Micky Arison indicated that operating results in the first quarter were better than the company's
December guidance due primarily to lower than expected net cruise costs and stronger than expected net revenue
yields on close-in bookings.
"Considering the economic climate," said Mr. Arison, "achieving higher quarterly net income is quite remarkable. The
effect of lower revenue yields resulting from the pull back by the consumer was offset by the fall in fuel prices from
prior year levels. Our continued focus on cost controls also played a meaningful role in our ability to achieve such
positive results." Source : MarineLog