Royal Caribbean full year profits trimmed
High fuel costs contibuted to a $30 million drop in Royal Caribbean Cruises’ profits for 2007.
Despite a strong fourth quarter, the company saw annual net profit reduce to $603.4 million against $633.9 million in 2006. This came on revenues up to $6.1 billion from $5.2 billion the previous year.
Higher fuel costs increased operating cost by $45 million in 2007, the company said.
Fourth quarter profit came in at a record $70.8 million compared to $46.6 million a yer earlier. Revenues for the three months were up to £1.5 billion from $1.2 billion in the final quarter of 2006. Fuel costs were up by 41% in the quarter over the same period in 2006.
The cruise giant said it expected capacity to rise by more than 5% this year through a full year of operations by Liberty of the Seas, the introduction of the world’s largest cruise ship Independence of the Seas from Southampton in May, subsidiary Pullmantur’s purchase of Pacific Star and the November delivery of Celebrity Solstice.
Chairman and CEO Richard Fain said: “The early indications from the ‘wave period’ are encouraging.
“We continue to see healthy booking volumes and improving pricing over the same period last year.”
Looking back on the final quarter of 2007 and the full year, Fain said: “It is very gratifying to see such a strong performance, especially in light of the broader consumer and economic environment.
“We are particularly pleased with the solid yield performance of our brands, which produced such healthy earnings despite significantly higher fuel costs.”
by Phil Davies
Phil Davies
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