Carnival Posts Upbeat Q1 Earnings, But Issues Weak Forecast

reported better-than-expected earnings for the first quarter, but issued weak earnings forecast for the current quarter. For 2015, Carnival now projects adjusted earnings of $2.35 to $2.50 per share, versus analysts' estimates of $2.50 per share. For the current quarter, the company expects earnings of $1.56 to $1.60 per share, versus analysts' estimates of $1.70 per share. The Miami, Florida-based company reported a quarterly profit of $222 million, or $0.29 per share, versus a year-ago profit of $98 million, or $0.13 per share. Excluding items, the company's earnings surged to $0.25 per share from $0.09 per share. Its revenue slipped 1.2 percent to $3.59 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.16 per share on revenue of $3.56 billion. The average estimate among 29 Estimize users was for earnings of $0.17 per share and revenue of $3.59 billion. Overall costs shrank to $3.3 billion from $3.49 billion. Net revenue yields increased 4.1 percent on a constant dollar basis in the quarter. Fuel prices declined 37 percent in the quarter to $411 per metric ton. Carnival Corporation & plc President and CEO Arnold Donald said, "We more than doubled our second quarter earnings versus the comparable period a year ago and significantly exceeded our quarterly earnings guidance. Our initiatives to create demand and leverage our scale benefited both cruise ticket prices and onboard revenues contributing to 5% revenue yield improvement (constant currency) this quarter. While all of our North American brands enjoyed strong revenue yield improvement, our Carnival Cruise Line brand performed particularly well again this quarter." Carnival shares fell 0.86 percent to $49.49 at 11:30 a.m. ET.