By Will Feuer
Shares of cruise operators fell after Carnival warned that rising fuel prices are weighing on the company’s earnings.
Shares of Carnival fell almost 7%, to $13.46, in afternoon trading. Royal Caribbean stock fell nearly 3% while Norwegian Cruise Line shares fell about 4%.
“While we’ve experienced volatility in fuel prices before, there’s only been one other period in the last 15 years that our fuel price has been this level,” Carnival Chief Executive Josh Weinstein told analysts on a conference call. Currency fluctuations are also weighing on earnings.
The company is working on reducing fuel use by making its fleet more efficient and the routes of its voyages less fuel intensive, he said.
Higher sales offset the spike in fuel prices, which Carnival is forecasting will rise another 20% in the current quarter.
For the fourth quarter, Carnival is forecasting an adjusted loss of 10 cents a share to 18 cents a share, compared with the loss of 11 cents a share that analysts were expecting.
Write to Will Feuer at [email protected]
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