For the current quarter, the company forecast per-share earnings of 35 cents to 40 cents. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected 46 cents.
Miami-based Royal Caribbean, which operates its namesake line as well as Celebrity, said bookings since July have been solid and that it continues to be booked ahead of last year. Early bookings for 2015 also are better than a year earlier, in terms of both volume and pricing.
The company said that for next year, bookings for Europe sailings are off to a particularly good start, with strong trends from North America and from Europe. Caribbean pricing pressure continues through the first quarter, but the company expects it to improve afterward.
Overall Royal Caribbean reported a profit of $490.2 million, or $2.19 a share, up from $365.7 million, or $1.65 a share, a year earlier. Excluding restructuring-related charges and other items, earnings rose to $2.20 from $1.71. The company expected $2.20.Revenue increased 3.3% to $2.39 billion, slightly below analysts’ estimates of $2.4 billion.
Net yields, a key industry metric measuring revenue per available cruise day, rose 4.2%, excluding foreign-exchange impacts. Net cruise costs excluding fuel and currency impacts, declined 1.2%, mainly as the result of timing.
The cruise industry has been under scrutiny in recent years. In January, hundreds of passengers on Royal Caribbean’s Explorer of the Seas ship from New Jersey to the Caribbean were stricken with a gastrointestinal illness. The cruise operator cut short the 10-day trip.
Rivals have also faced graver problems over the past couple of years, such as a tragic sinking and engine fires.
The company is aiming to double its per-share earnings by 2017 over 2014 levels as well as raise its return on invested capital by double digits.
Royal Caribbean said that the combined impact of a strengthening dollar and falling fuel prices is a negative 10 cents a share this year.
For the year, the company now expects per-share earnings estimate about $3.45, the midpoint of its previous estimate for per-share profit of $3.40 to $3.50.
