Royal Caribbean rises on annual profit forecast lift
BUZZ-Royal Caribbean rises on annual profit forecast lift Updates
** Shares of cruise operator Royal Caribbean RCL.N up as much as 5% to $321.57, reversing premarket losses
** Co raises annual adjusted EPS forecast to between $17.73 and $17.87, sees fuel expenses of $1.34 billion vs previous $1.35 billion forecast
** Q2 revenue rose 6%, narrowly surpassing estimates, while adjusted EPS beat expectations, per data compiled by LSEG
** Analysts at Jefferies say while some "modest, near-term" impact on bookings bears vigilance, improvements in fuel, ex-fuel costs among others drove a positive adjusted EPS revision,
** However, co cuts annual revenue forecast, accounting for modest booking impact for select itineraries primarily due to prolonged geopolitical activity
** Sees annual revenue growing 9%, compared to previous 10% rise forecast
** Peers Norwegian Cruise Line NCLH.N and Carnival CCL.N also up ~3%
** Up to last close, RCL rose 9.4% YTD, while NCLH and CCL were down ~10% and ~11%, respectively
(Reporting by Neil J Kanatt and Shania S Thomas in Bengaluru)