Carnival Corp. reported sharply higher net income of $171.5 million and revenues of $824.9 million for its first quarter ended Feb. 29, 2000. Net income was $157.8 million on revenues of $748.3 million for the first quarter a year ago.
Earnings per share increased 7.7 percent in the first quarter from the year-earlier period. And revenues were up by 10.2 percent over first quarter 1999. Commenting on the first quarter 2000 results, Carnival Corp. chairman and CEO Micky Arison said strong revenue growth was a primary catalyst for the growth in earnings. Capacity was up 6.9 percent in the first quarter of 2000 and net revenue yields also increased, primarily as a result of the success of the company's millennium cruises.
Partially offsetting this revenue growth were increases in fuel costs, as well as operational costs related primarily to the millennium cruises. Arison noted that the company's newest ships, including Carnival Cruise Lines' Destiny and Triumph, and Holland America Lines' Rotterdam and Volendam, performed particularly well during the quarter.
Arison cautioned that softer ticket pricing resulting from slower booking patterns for post-millennium cruises, together with increased fuel costs, could cause second-quarter earnings to be slightly lower than last year. However, he said, the company believes that earnings for the second half of fiscal year 2000 will be stronger. And he estimated that for the entire fiscal year 2000, earnings will be 8 percent to 10 percent higher than fiscal year 1999.
The company recently placed orders for two additional ships for Holland America and signed a letter of intent for Cunard's Queen Mary 2, which is expected to be the world's largest passenger vessel.
On Feb. 28, Carnival announced that its board of directors had authorized the repurchase of up to $1 billion of its common stock shares. Given the significant decline in its stock price, Carnival believes that purchasing its stock represents a very attractive investment. To date, Carnival has repurchased 6 million of the shares in open-market transactions.
Carnival is traded on the New York Stock Exchange as CCL.