Despite cruise ship woes, Carnival first-quarter earnings up slightly

Despite recent cruise ship mishaps, Carnival Corp.’s first-quarter earnings were up $37 million, or 5 cents per share, but the cruise ship company cut its annual earnings forecast for the rest of the year.

Beset by Europe’s economic problems and expenses related to ship repairs, the company has cut its forecast for the year.

Earnings excluding some items are expected to be between $1.80 to $2.10 per share this year, indicating a possible decrease from $1.88 a year earlier, Carnival said Friday. The Miami-based firm had previously forecast earnings of as much as $2.40 per share.

Despite problems with some of their ships, the company said bookings have been strong, but that may change this year.

“Booking volumes during our seasonally strong wave period have remained solid with pricing comparisons improving in recent weeks,” the company said in a statement. “However, economic
uncertainty in Europe continues to hinder yield growth.”

Carnival’s shares were down 76 cents, or 2.14%, to $34.97 in morning trading.

The earnings report comes a day after Carnival had yet another problem with one of its ships, the Carnival Dream. The ship’s emergency diesel generator failed, causing problems with elevators and toilets aboard the vessel.

The problem was discovered while the ship was docked at the Caribbean island of St. Maarten. The ship’s 4,300 passengers will be flown home on the company’s dime.

Another ship, Carnival Legend, also reported mechanical problems Thursday. That vessel’s planned stop in the Cayman Islands was scuttled and the ship continued to its final destination, Florida.

A month ago, the Carnival Triumph was left without power in the Gulf of Mexico and passengers spent four days aboard the stalled ship before it was pulled into port by several tugboats.

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ricardo.lopez2@latimes.com