RCL Royal Caribbean Group

Carnival Corp. said its earnings nearly tripled in the latest quarter as the cruise-ship operator continued to benefit from a slide in fuel costs.

Shares rose 5%, to $52.10, in early trading as adjusted per-share earnings and revenue beat expectations.

For the fiscal year ending in November, the company narrowed its adjusted earnings estimate to $3.20 to $3.40 a share, from its previous estimate of $3.10 to $3.40. The company expects to benefit from higher booking volumes and higher prices.

The company backed its and net revenue yield growth of roughly 3%.

For the current quarter, the company forecast adjusted earnings of 34 cents to 38 cents a share. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected 38 cents.

The cruise-ship company, which operates Carnival Cruise Lines as well as the Princess, Cunard and Holland America lines, has benefited in recent quarters from broad-based booking strength and lower fuel costs.

In the latest quarter, the company reported that its fuel expenses fell 41%, to $187 million from $318 million a year ago. Carnival said that since January, booking volumes for the remainder of the year are running ahead of last year's historically high levels at higher prices.

Chief Executive Arnold Donald said the company's efforts to improve guests' experiences, as well as marketing efforts, "have driven additional demand for our brands, resulting in a strong booked position."

The company said Cuba last week granted approval for Carnival to run cruises from the U.S. starting in May. Carnival said it is cleared to operate a 704-passenger ship through its Fathom brand to Cuba amid thawing in U.S.-Cuban relations.

For the period ended Feb. 29, Carnival reported a profit of $142 million, or 18 cents a share, up from $49 million, or 6 cents a share, a year earlier.

Excluding items, per-share earnings rose to 39 cents from 20 cents.

The company expected per-share earnings between 28 cents and 32 cents.

Revenue increased 3.4%, to $3.65 billion. Analysts expected revenue of $3.63 billion.

Net cruise costs excluding fuel and currency impacts rose 1.6%, below the company's projection of an increase of 2.5% to 3.5%, because of the timing of expenses between quarters.

Net revenue yields—a measure of revenue relative to capacity—rose 5.7% in the latest quarter when adjusted for currency fluctuations, above the company's expectations for growth of 3.5% to 4.5%.

Carnival's report also boosted shares of fellow cruise operator Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., which climbed 4.1%. The firm had issued disappointing guidance early last month that walloped its stock performance.

Tess Stynes contributed to this article.

Write to Joshua Jamerson at joshua.jamerson@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 30, 2016 11:05 ET (15:05 GMT)

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