Second-quarter profits up for Carnival Corp.

Helped by lower fuel prices, the world’s largest cruise ship company had a big second quarter.

Doral-based Carnival Corp. reported net income of $222 million for the quarter that ended May 31. During the same time period a year ago, the company made a $98 million profit. The company’s earnings per share beat its own forecast and analyst expectations.

Revenues for the second fiscal quarter were $3.6 billion, about the same as last year.

In a statement, Carnival Corp. president and CEO Arnold Donald said the Carnival Cruise Line brand was a standout performer during the quarter. The parent company owns 10 brands worldwide including Carnival Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, Holland America Line, Seabourn, AIDA Cruises and Costa Cruises.

The company said advance bookings for the next three quarters are ahead of last year, but at slightly lower prices.

“Current strength in booking volumes clearly demonstrates strong consumer demand for our brands, leaving less inventory remaining for sale and building confidence in achieving significant revenue yield improvement this year,” Donald said in a statement. “We are stepping up our marketing investment for the remainder of the year to further solidify our base of business for 2016 and drive continued yield improvement as we progress on our path toward double digit return on invested capital.”

Shares of Carnival dropped less than one percent to close at $49.48.

This story was originally published June 23, 2015 at 9:54 AM with the headline "Second-quarter profits up for Carnival Corp.."