Arab conflicts to hit Carnival

13th Jun 2011 15:23

The impact of conflicts in the Arab World and the earthquake and nuclear disaster in Japan have prompted cruise operator Carnival to lower its profit guidance for the second half of 2011.It will cost the company an additional $0.15 a share in the second half, said Carnival, which added that fuel price increases will cost the company another $0.05 a share."In its March guidance, the company underestimated the full impact of these events on its second half earnings," it said. "The March guidance occurred just one week after substantially all the itinerary changes resulting from these events were announced and only days after the Japanese earthquake."The company added that softness in bookings in Southern Europe and Britain will hit revenues by another $0.05 a share."However, the company expects to offset the effect of this $0.05 per share in other cost areas of the business," said Carnival. "Revenue performance for the North American brands remains strong and the company continues to expect sequential improvement in the second half of the year." ---RG