Carnival Corp. earns $1.21 billion in its third quarter

Carnival Corp. said net income in its third quarter fell 2% from the same period a year earlier, from $1.24 billion to $1.21 billion. Revenue stayed roughly unchanged at $4.9 billion.

The quarter includes an unrealized loss on fuel derivatives of $137 million. On an adjusted basis, Carnival said it earned $1.4 billion, the highest quarterly amount in its history.

Carnival said net revenue yields, a measure of ticket price and occupancy, improved 5% from the same quarter in 2014.

“Clearly our ongoing investments in the guest experience, combined with our global marketing and public relations efforts along with our initiatives to leverage our scale, are having a positive impact,” Carnival Corp. CEO Arnold Donald said.

Write downs a factor in lower Q3 earnings for Carnival Corp.

By Tom Stieghorst

Carnival Corp. earned $934 million in the key third quarter, down 28% from the $1.3 billion earned in the same quarter last year.

Revenue of $4.7 billion was in line with last year, Carnival said.

Carnival said it had impairment charges of $203 million to write down the value of two older Costa ships, its Ibero Cruises trademark and other items. Those were partly offset by a gain on fuel derivative contracts.

Like other cruise lines, Carnival earns the bulk of its annual profits in the third quarter, which at Carnival includes the months of June, July and August.

For all of 2013, Carnival said it expects to earn $1.2 billion.

Carnival also reported income on a non-GAAP accounting basis, a method favored by some investors. By that measure, it earned $1.1 billion, down from $1.2 billion a year ago.