Caribbean occupancy for 2018 is behind the pace of last
year, said Carnival Corp., although prices are ahead.
Bookings overall for 2018 are ahead on higher pricing, but
the Caribbean slowed in late September after several major hurricanes and didn't
normalize until November, Carnival Corp. CFO David Bernstein said Tuesday during
the company's conference call to discuss fourth-quarter and year-end results.
"We're not talking about a significant difference in
occupancy," Bernstein said, adding that Carnival is "very comfortable"
with first-quarter guidance of adjusted net income of between $266 million and
$295 million, compared with $279 million this year.
CEO Arnold Donald added that Carnival Corp. is doing "very
well" in the Caribbean. "We don't have any concerns at this point
about the momentum or the bookings in the Caribbean," Donald said. "We're
pacing things the way we want to pace them."
Before the call, Carnival announced that 2017 net income,
unadjusted for fuel derivatives and other special items, totaled $2.6 billion,
down from $2.8 billion a year earlier. Carnival said that adjusting for fuel
derivatives and other noncash items, the numbers are reversed with 2017 net
income of $2.8 billion exceeding 2016's $2.6 billion.
Revenue in 2017 rose 6.8%, to $17.5 billion.
In other areas, Donald acknowledged that tension between
China and South Korea and the introduction of new ships into the market made it
a less-than-banner year in growing the Chinese cruise market.
"The industry had a tough year in China this year, but
I think the long-term prospects are outstanding," Donald said.
In 2018, cruise capacity growth in China is forecast to be
flat and Carnival is trying to diversify its distribution away from charter contracts
and more toward group business, Donald said. China remains at about 5% of
Carnival's total capacity, he said.