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NEW YORK — Carnival Corp. said Thursday it booked a better-than-expected 32 percent drop in its second-quarter profit, but the cruise operator lowered its full-year forecast to reflect rising fuel costs.
Carnival shares gained $1.32 cents, or 5.5 percent, to $24.37 in morning trading. The stock has traded between $14.85 and $42.39 during the past 52 weeks.
Miami-based Carnival recorded a profit of $264 million, or 33 cents per share, in the quarter that ended May 31. That's down from $390 million, or 49 cents per share, a year ago.
Revenue tumbled 13 percent to $2.95 billion.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected a profit of 29 cents per share on revenue of $2.99 billion.
Carnival CEO Micky Arison attributed the company's performance to lower-than-anticipated cruise costs and some gains in pricing.
Rising fuel costs, however, partly offset those improvements. The company said it started some conservation programs that helped reduce fuel consumption during the period.
Also, the impact of swine flu lowered earnings by about 3 cents per share during the quarter, although that result was better than the company's forecast of a potential 5-cent hit.
Carnival began redirecting ships away from Mexican ports in late April as swine flu deaths peaked in that region and fear spread that tourists could pick up the illness.
For the second half of 2009, Carnival said its booking levels remain slightly behind last year, although booking volumes have picked up significantly. Ticket prices, however, remain at "substantially lower levels."
"As we have progressed throughout the year, booking volumes have continued to accelerate with less discounting, as consumers have come to recognize the extraordinary value proposition our cruise vacations represent," Arison said.
The increase in fuel prices, however, has weighed on the company's full-year outlook. Carnival lowered its 2009 earnings forecast to a range of $2 to $2.10 per share, from its previous guidance range of $2.10 to $2.30.
Analysts predict a 2009 profit of $2.08 per share.
For the third-quarter, Carnival expects earnings to range from $1.15 and $1.19 per share, compared with analysts' forecast of $1.25 per share.
