The world's largest cruise shipowner Carnival Corporation on Friday, June 24, forecast a core profit for 2022-Q2, as the company returns to full operations despite surging fuel costs and decades-high inflation.
CCL shares, which have fallen 52% in 2022, were up ~10% as Carnival Corp also revealed it expected bookings for the whole of the next year to be at the top end of the historical range and to benefit from the higher prices.
On a post-earnings call, Chief Executive Officer Arnold Donald said that "concerning the threat of global recession, while not recession-proof," their business had proven to be "recession-resilient time and again."
The USA's agency CDC removed its COVID notice against cruise travel in March 2022, almost 2 years after introducing a warning scale. The move has been encouraging more people to sail, boosting bookings for cruise companies like CCL-Carnival which now has a majority of its fleet back on the water.
As of Friday, June 25, 91% of the company's capacity is in passenger cruise operation as part of the ongoing return to service.