Carnival Corporation & plc announced adjusted net income of $301 million, or $0.39 diluted earnings per share, for the first quarter of 2016 compared to adjusted net income for the first quarter of 2015 of $159 million, or $0.20 diluted earnings per share. For the first quarter of 2016, U.S. GAAP net income was $142 million, or $0.18 diluted earnings per share, which included unrealized losses on fuel derivatives and other net charges of $159 million. For the first quarter of 2015, U.S. GAAP net income was $49 million, or $0.06 diluted earnings per share. Revenues for the first quarter of 2016 were $3.7 billion compared to $3.5 billion in the prior year.
Carnival Corporation & plc President and Chief Executive Officer Arnold Donald noted, “Our teams delivered another strong quarter of operational improvement by creating increased demand for our brands and leveraging our scale which resulted in revenue yield improvement approaching 6 percent and the near doubling of first quarter adjusted earnings. We thank our millions of loyal guests and valued travel professional partners around the globe for their patronage and support.”
Key metrics for the first quarter 2016 compared to first quarter 2015 were as follows:
Net revenue yields (net revenue per available lower berth day or “ALBD”) increased 5.7 percent in constant currency, which was better than the company’s December guidance of up 3.5 to 4.5 percent. Gross revenue yields decreased 0.4 percent in current dollars due to changes in currency exchange rates.
Net cruise costs excluding fuel per ALBD increased 1.6 percent in constant currency and were lower than December guidance, up 2.5 to 3.5 percent, due to the timing of expenses between quarters. Gross cruise costs including fuel per ALBD in current dollars decreased 6.0 percent due to changes in fuel prices and currency exchange rates.
Changes in fuel prices (including fuel derivatives), net of changes in currency exchange rates, increased earnings by $0.03 per share.
The company’s Germany-based AIDA brand recently took delivery of AIDAprima with a wide array of innovative and remarkable guest experiences. In the coming days, Holland America’s new flagship Koningsdam will also be delivered boasting new groundbreaking experiences especially in entertainment. Other new ship deliveries scheduled for 2016 include Carnival Vista in late April and Seabourn Encore in November. In addition, P&O Cruises (Australia) recently announced that Pacific Pearl will leave the fleet in April 2017, consistent with the company’s long-term strategy of removing less efficient ships from its fleet as new capacity is introduced.
Last week marked a historic day for Carnival Corporation when the company became the first U.S. based cruise operator in more than 50 years to be granted approval from Cuba to sail there. The company’s newest brand, Fathom, will begin seven-day cruises to Cuba in early May onboard the 700-passenger Adonia initially visiting Havana, Cienfuegos and Santiago de Cuba.