Carnival achieved revenue of $5.4 billion in its fiscal first quarter, the British-American cruise giant reported on Wednesday. It is the shipping company’s strongest top line in this quarter ever.
“FANTASTIC START”: According to Carnival CEO Josh Weinstein. Photo: Bloomberg
The quarterly period was rounded off with February. In the corresponding quarter a year earlier, revenues were 4.4 billion dollars. The expectation now was 5.33 billion, according to CNBC, which refers to the FactSet consensus.
The operating result was turned into a profit of 276 million dollars, from minus 172 million a year ago. On the bottom line, there was a deficit of 214 million dollars, against a loss of 693 million in the fiscal first quarter of 2023.
Bookings during the first quarter were also record-breaking, driven by demand for 2025 and beyond, says Carnival, which at the same time has charged significantly higher prices than at the same time last year. The shipping company reports customer deposits of USD 7.0 billion, a new record for the first quarter – and a whopping USD 1.3 billion above the previous record for the period.
– This has been a fantastic start to the year. We delivered another strong quarter, which exceeded the guidance in all respects, comments CEO Josh Weinstein.
Baltimore bang
At the same time, Carnival estimates that the bridge collapse in Baltimore this week could weaken both adjusted operating profit before depreciation and amortization (ebitda) and adjusted net profit by up to 10 million dollars – or 100 million kroner – this year.
Excluding the Baltimore effects, Carnival estimates full-year 2024 adjusted EBITDA of $5.63 billion, as well as adjusted net income of $1.28 billion.
The Ebitda guidance indicates growth of more than 30 percent from 2023, and an upward adjustment from the guidance Carnival presented before the New Year.
Adjusted ebitda result in the first quarter ended at 871 million dollars, which was more than 70 million higher than the shipping company guided in December. Adjusted net profit in the three-month period was minus 180 million dollars.
The Carnival share is up around 3 percent in US trading on Wednesday afternoon. In the past year, the cruise giant’s shares are up 90 percent.
Throughout 2023, the stock rose 130 percent, with the reopening of society after the corona pandemic, according to CNBC.
The Carnival group comprises 87 ships that sail under nine different brand names, including Carnival Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, Costa Cruises and AIDA Cruises. The group has 120,000 employees and more than 13 million customers annually.
