Carnival Corp. Reports Record Profits for Third Quarter

Carnival Corp. & plc reported record net income for its third quarter ended August 31 of $1.38 billion, or $1.67 diluted earnings per share, compared to $1.23 billion, or $1.49 diluted EPS, in the same period last year.

Revenues for the third quarter 2007 increased to $4.32 billion from $3.91 billion in the third quarter of 2006. Net income for the nine months ended August 31 was also a record at $2.05 billion, or $2.51 diluted EPS, on revenues of $9.91 billion, compared to net income of $1.86 billion, or $2.25 diluted EPS, on revenues of $9.03 billion for the same period in 2006.

The company’s European brands benefited from strong improvements in operating results with increased revenue yields on a dollar basis due to stronger euro and Sterling currencies. Local currency revenue yields were down against very strong comparisons with the previous year.

The company has repurchased 4.5 million shares of Carnival stock for approximately $195 million since the beginning of the third quarter. The total amount repurchased to date under the June 2006 $1 billion authorization is $422 million. The board of directors increased the remaining $578 million repurchase authorization to $1 billion.

On a cumulative basis, occupancy for advance bookings taken for the fourth quarter of 2007 and the first half of 2008 are ahead of last year with pricing on a current dollar basis up slightly compared to last year.

For the fourth quarter of 2007, the company expects earnings to be in the range of 42 to 44 cents per share, down from 51 cents per share in 2006, primarily as a result of significantly higher fuel prices and timing of dry-dock expenses.