Carnival cruises into profit thanks to low fuel prices

Lower fuel costs pumped up Carnival Corporation in its last quarter, allowing the cruise line to turn a profit.

Shares in the firm rose on the news, pushing its year-to-date gain to 15%, despite the news of lower ticket sales.

The company - which operates the Carnival, Cunard, Holland America and Princess cruise brands - reaped the benefit of lower fuel costs in recent trading. Prices dropped more than 45% in the preceding year, which was much steeper than anyone in the industry could have predicted.

However, the firm did raise some ticket prices in the year, which had not affected bookings - they remained ahead of 2015 for the first three quarters of the year. Total ticket revenue was down.

"We have begun to sell at higher prices than the same time last year", said chief executive Arnold Donald.

The rising US dollar has also put pressure on the firm, as foreign travellers face higher costs of cruising. Currency fluctuations shaved eight cents a share off Carnival's bottom line in the quarter, the firm said.

Overall, the cruise line reported a healthy turnaround from last year, with a profit of USD$270m (£181.12m) - up from a loss of $104m a year earlier. Revenue did slip 0.2% to USD$3.71bn.

In its report, Carnival offered full-year profit guidance of between USD$3.10 and USD$3.40 per share, with analysts expecting USD$3.30.

In New York at 1647 GMT, shares in Carnival were up 4.22% to $52.59. In London at 1635 GMT, they were trading up 2.64% to 3,648p.