Carnival reinstates dividend as annual profit jumps; outlook positive

(Alliance News) - Carnival PLC on Friday said it expects adjusted net profit to rise comfortably in 2026 as it announced the reinstatement of quarterly dividends and higher revenue.

The Miami, Florida-based cruise operator said pretax profit jumped 45% to a "record" USD2.77 billion in the financial year ended November 30, from USD1.92 billion a year ago.

Net income rose 44% to USD2.76 billion from USD1.92 billion, while adjusted net income climbed 63% to USD3.08 billion from USD1.89 billion.

Revenue climbed 6.4% to USD26.62 billion, also a record, the firm noted, from USD25.02 billion on-year, with passenger ticket revenue growing 5.8% to USD17.42 billion from USD16.46 billion.

Chief Executive Officer Josh Weinstein celebrated "strong demand that outpaced unit cost increases," adding that the momentum is carrying into 2026.

CEO Weinstein added: "With our strengthened balance sheet, powerful and diverse portfolio of world-class cruise lines and exclusive destinations, we are well positioned to capitalize on a tremendous runway to continue driving yield improvement and exceptional returns. We look forward to delivering unforgettable happiness to our guests around the world and long-term value for our shareholders, for years to come."

Carnival announced the reinstatement of dividends, declaring a quarterly payout of 15 US cents.

Chief Financial Officer David Bernstein said: "We have reached a meaningful turning point, surpassing the investment grade leverage metric threshold with a net debt to adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation ratio of 3.4x for 2025, representing a nearly one turn improvement from 2024 and successfully completing our USD19 billion refinancing plan in less than a year.

"These efforts strengthened our balance sheet by simplifying our capital structure, reducing interest expense and debt, optimizing our future debt maturities and enhancing our financial flexibility. In total, we have reduced our debt by over USD10 billion since our peak less than three years ago. These efforts and our strong continued operating performance, resulted in multiple credit rating upgrades throughout the year, culminating in reaching investment grade with Fitch and being one notch away with a positive outlook from S&P."

For the full year 2026, the company expects adjusted net income to grow by 12%.

Carnival shares rose 9.8% to 2,177.43 pence each on Friday afternoon in London. In New York, they opened 3.6% higher at USD29.35.

By Tom Budszus, Alliance News slot editor

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