12:18 PM EDT, 06/25/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Carnival (CCL) lifted its full-year earnings outlook on Tuesday after the cruise operator unexpectedly swung to a fiscal second-quarter profit, buoyed by significantly higher prices on bookings taken during the period.

The company now expects to post adjusted earnings of about $1.18 a share for fiscal 2024, up from its previous projection of $0.98. The consensus on Capital IQ is for normalized EPS of $1.01. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization is pegged at $5.83 billion, compared with the prior guidance of $5.63 billion.

"Based on continued strong demand trends, we are taking up our expectations for the year with net yields now forecasted to top 10% and propelling us towards double-digit returns on invested capital," Chief Executive Josh Weinstein said in a statement. The company's stock spiked 7.5% in midday trading.

Carnival's cumulative advanced booked position for 2025 is currently "even higher" than the ongoing year in occupancy and constant currency prices, driven by "record" booking volumes for sailings next year. "We are very pleased with the continued acceleration of demand for 2025 and beyond, which builds upon the fantastic achievements in 2024 thus far," Weinstein said. For the third quarter, the company anticipates adjusted EPS of $1.15.

For the three months through May 31, adjusted earnings rose to $0.11 per share, compared with a loss of $0.31 the year before. Analysts were estimating a per-share normalized loss of $0.02. Revenue jumped to $5.78 billion from $4.91 billion, topping the market view for $5.69 billion.

The company achieved "considerably" higher prices in constant currency on bookings taken during the second quarter versus a year ago, amid less inventory for sale for the remainder of 2024, it said. Occupancy climbed to 104% from 98% in the 2023 period. At the end of May, total customer deposits came in at $8.3 billion, up from $7.2 billion the prior year.

"We expect substantial free cash flow driven by our ongoing operational execution and the lowest newbuild order book in decades to deliver continued improvements in our leverage metrics and balance sheet," Chief Financial Officer David Bernstein said in the statement.

Price: 17.63, Change: +1.24, Percent Change: +7.54