Carnival Corporation has posted an impressive net profit of US$2.1 billion for 2015, largely due to falling fuel prices.
The company, which operates several of the world’s leading cruise brands, achieved a 40% year-on-year jump in profits this year, compared to the US$1.5bn it generated in 2014.
And this came despite a 1.3% dip in revenues, from US$15.9bn in 2014 to US$15.7bn this year. Most of the gains were driven by a 46% drop in fuel prices, which fell from US$584 to US$$316 per metric ton.
“We nearly doubled our fourth quarter results and ended the year with 40% higher earnings,” said Carnival’s president & CEO, Arnold Donald. “This year we achieved a 4.3% improvement in revenue yields compared to the prior year due to higher onboard revenues and increased ticket prices as we have driven demand in excess of capacity growth, while our ongoing efforts to leverage our industry-leading scale helped to contain costs.
“Our strong performance led to record operating cash flow of well over US$4 billion versus US$3.4 billion last year,” he added.
Highlights of the company’s fourth quarter included the launch of two new Australian vessels for P&O Cruises, and the announcement that Carnival Cruise Line and AIDA Cruises will both enter the Chinese market in 2017. This continues Carnival’s expansion in China, where it will base six ships in 2016 from the Costa and Princess Cruises brands.
Looking ahead, Carnival revealed that advanced bookings for the first three quarters of 2016 are “well ahead of the prior year”.
Donald noted; “As we had anticipated, with less inventory remaining for sale, we have begun to sell at higher prices than the same time last year, particularly close to departure, affirming our expectation of continued yield improvement in 2016.”
Based on current booking trends, the company forecasts that full-year revenue yields for 2016 will increase approximately 3% compared to 2015, while net cruise costs, excluding fuel, are expected to rise 2%.
Four new Carnival ships are scheduled to enter service in 2016, with Holland America Line’s Koningsdam and AIDAprima both debuting in April, Carnival Vista entering service in May, and Seabourn Encore launching in December.
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