Swine flu causes dip in cruise line profits

May 20, 6:48 AMMiami Health Care ExaminerDeborah Shlian

Miami headquartered Carnival cruise lines said that the swine flu is expected to have a negative impact on its second quarter earnings. An estmated loss of up to 5 cents per share is a result of having to modify cruise itineraries in response to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations against non-essential travel to Mexico. The CDC lifted those restrictions as of May 15, and Carnival (NYSE: CCL and NYSE: CUK) said it expects to resume stops to Mexico in mid-June.

Carnival Corporation is the world's largest cruise operator. The company has twelve distinct brands, operating 79 ships that carry about 6.8 million passengers per year. It operates the Queen Mary 2 and Queen Elizabeth 2 ocean liners. The company has annual revenues of more than $11 billion and employs about 71,000 people. It has twelve new ships scheduled for delivery between 2006 and 2009.

Three of the company's brands modified itineraries for 27 cruise ships – 16 for Carnival Cruise Lines, six for Princess Cruises and five for Holland America Line, according to a news release. In many instances, the modifications involved simply substituting another port, while others required new itineraries to be created.

The only positive news is that the full-year profit is still expected to be high. Upon the news being released, Carnival Cruise Lines shares gained 6% to bump them to $26.49.

 For more info on travel recommendations: CDC information