Per-share loss outlooks for the fiscal second quarter and the fiscal year were wider than analyst expectations
Shares of Carnival Corp. fell Monday, reversing an earlier gain, after the cruise operator reported better-than-expected fiscal first-quarter results and record bookings but provided downbeat outlooks for second-quarter and full-year losses.
The stock CCL, -4.77% CCL, declined 1.6% in morning trading, reversing earlier gains of as much as 5.3%.
The company reported a net loss for the quarter ending Feb. 28 that narrowed to $693 million, or 55 cents a share, from $1.89 billion, or $1.66 a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding nonrecurring items, the adjusted per-share loss of 55 cents beat the FactSet loss consensus of 60 cents.
Revenue jumped 173.1% to $4.43 billion, above the FactSet consensus of $4.32 billion. Revenue improved to about 95% of 2019 levels, compared with fourth-quarter revenue that was 80% of 2019 levels.
“We are enjoying a phenomenal wave season, achieving our highest ever quarterly booking volumes and breaking records in both North America and Europe,” said Chief Executive Josh Weinstein. “Our strong performance has extended into March and we expect this favorable trend to continue based on the success of our efforts to drive demand.”
Wave season refers to peak cruise-promotion season, which occurs during the first quarter of the calendar year.
Passenger-ticket revenue jumped 229% to $2.87 billion, while onboard and other revenue increased 108% to $1.56 billion, as passenger cruise days increased 181% to 20.2 million.
Net per diems per passenger cruise day were $162.96, up from $155.37 in the same period in 2019.
“We achieved record first quarter net per diems, exceeding the high end of our guidance, driven by improving ticket prices and sustained growth in onboard revenue, while delivering an additional seven points of occupancy on higher capacity compared to the prior quarter,” Weinstein said.
Looking ahead, the company expects a per-share loss of 42 cents to 34 cents for the second quarter, which compares with the FactSet loss consensus of 28 cents. Net per diems are expected to be flat to up 1% from 2019.
For fiscal 2023, Carnival projects adjusted per-share losses of 44 cents to 28 cents, which is wider than the current FactSet loss consensus of 7 cents. Net per diems are anticipated to be above 2019 levels by 1% to 2%.
The stock has run up 18.5% over the past three months, while the S&P 500 index SPX, +0.16% has gained 3.9%.