© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A Carnival cruise ship is docked, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, in Long Beach, California, U.S., April 7, 2021. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo
(Reuters) – Carnival (NYSE:) lowered its annual loss forecast on Monday, banking on higher ticket prices and a steady demand for cruises.
U.S. customers including the younger population are shelling out money on novel services such as cruise travel, prioritizing experiences over spending on non-essential goods amid persistent inflation that has forced consumers to tighten their purse strings.
Carnival has scrapped or sold 26 ships since the pandemic and added 14 new vessels to optimize its fleet, helping the company sustain higher ticket prices. This has helped mitigate the impact of higher fuel costs and a strong dollar.
The company said cash from operations and adjusted free cash flow were positive in the second quarter of 2023, and both are expected to be positive for the second half of the year.
Carnival now expects adjusted annual loss per share between 8 cents and 20 cents, compared with its earlier forecast of a loss per share of 28 cents to 44 cents.
Shares of the company were down about 2% premarket.
This story originally appeared on Investing
