Carnival Ends the Year with 40 Pct Higher Earnings

Carnival Cruise line giant Carnival Corporation & plc has reported a 40 percent increase in its results for the fourth quarter and full year ended November 30. Strong operational execution delivered USD 0.25 per share higher earnings than the mid-point of the companys  full year 2015 December guidance, despite a USD 0.10 drag from the net impact of currency and fuel prices. The cruise conglomerate achieved a 4.3 percent improvement  in revenue yields compared to the prior year due to higher onboard revenues and increased ticket prices. “We nearly doubled our fourth quarter results and ended the year with 40 percent higher earnings, said President and Chief Executive Officer Arnold Donald notes.  Our strong performance led to record operating cash flow of well over USD 4 billion versus USD 3.4 billion last year, “As we had anticipated, with less inventory remaining for sale, we have begun to sell at higher prices than the same time last year, particularly close to departure, affirming our expectation of continued yield improvement in 2016.” In terms of the outlook, Carnival said that at this time, cumulative advance bookings for the first three quarters of 2016 are well ahead of the prior year at slightly higher constant currency prices The company expects the FY 2016 net revenue yields  to be up approximately 3% in constant currency compared to
the prior year, of which approximately 1% is due to an accounting reclassification. In addition,  2016 adjusted earnings per share (diluted) are expected to be in the range of USD 3.10 to USD 3.40, compared to USD2.70  per share in FY2015. “We have accelerated progress toward and remain well positioned to achieve our double digit return on invested capital threshold in the next two to three years. Over time, we expect to continue to return excess cash to shareholders as demonstrated by our recent 20 percent increase in quarterly dividends and more than $400 million in share repurchases,” Donald added.