Carnival Reports Third Quarter Earnings

Carnival Corporation reported record net income of $495.0 million on revenues of $1.49 billion for its third quarter ended August 31, 2001, compared to net income of $396.2 million on revenues of $1.23 billion for the same quarter in 2000.

Net income for the nine months ended August 31, 2001, was $809.9 million on revenues of $3.58 billion, compared to net income of $771.7 million on revenues of $2.93 billion for the same period in 2000.

The 25 percent increase in the third quarter net income was primarily the result of a 14.5 percent, or $57 million, increase in net income from the company's existing cruise operations, and a $42 million increase in the company's net income from its Costa Cruises subsidiary. The increase in earnings from Costa's operations primarily resulted from the consolidation of Costa and a change in the timing of reporting Costa's operations from a two month lag to the current monthly period, both of which commenced at the beginning of 2001, and an improvement in Costa's operating results.

Third quarter 2001 net income also included the previously reported gain of approximately $100 million from the sale of the company's minority interest in Airtours, a European tour operator. In addition, the third quarter 2001 included a loss of approximately $101 million related to the write-down and sale of certain assets primarily associated with the company's Cunard and Seabourn luxury brands. These two one-time events effectively offset each other.