THE Aurora has come back to haunt Carnival after the world’s biggest cruise operator was forced to raise the cost of cancelling the ship’s voyage around the world by 20 per cent.
Carnival had earlier estimated that the cancellation of the Aurora’s 103-day voyage last month would reduce its full-year profits by 5c a share, or $40 million (£21 million).
But yesterday the Anglo-American company increased the expected financial impact to 6c a share, or about $48 million, because repairs to the 1,870-berth Aurora would keep the cruise liner out of service for longer than expected.
Carnival said that it would offset the rise in the cost with proceeds from an unrelated legal victory, which would add 1c per share to 2005 profits.
The cruise operator said that it remained comfortable with its full-year profit forecast of $2.70 per share, despite a 10 per cent increase in its fuel bill.
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Carnival said that there had been strong customer demand in January, its peak selling season, allowing it to raise average fares “significantly”.
Net revenue yields, a key measure of ticket prices and occupancy that excludes travel agent fees and air fares, were likely to increase by 4 to 6 per cent this year, compared to an earlier estimate of 3 to 5 per cent.
Carnival’s London-listed shares gained 13p to £31.69.
Last month, Carnival, which has 77 ships including the Queen Mary II, cancelled the Aurora’s voyage because of mechanical problems — 11 days after passengers boarded the vessel in Southampton. After leaving the port the Aurora made it as far as the Isle of Wight.