Americas News
Carnival: Bunker Consumption Up 4%, Bunker Bill Down 41%, Bunker Hedging Loss Up 40%
Miami-based cruise line operator Carnival Corporation & plc (Carnival) Wednesday reported its bunker consumption for the three months ending February 29, 2016 rose 4 percent year-on-year, but overall bunker costs - excluding its costly hedging programme - fell 41 percent.
Q1 2016 consumption totalled 816,000 metric tonnes (mt), at an average cost of $229 per metric tonnes (pmt) for a total of $186,864,000.
This compared with the period ending February 28, 2015, where bunker consumption was 783,000 mt at a cost of $406 pmt, for a total 41 percent higher than in 2016 at $317,898,000.
The lower bunker prices also meant a similar shift in the opposite direction for its bunker hedging programme, with the loss from fuel derivatives widening almost 40 percent to $236 million compared to a loss of $169 million for the period last year.
The figures came as part of a strong first quarter report from the cruise giant, in which it also reported a big jump in net income to $142 million, up from $49 million for the period in 2015.
"Our teams delivered another strong quarter of operational improvement by creating increased demand for our brands and leveraging our scale which resulted in revenue yield improvement approaching six percent and the near doubling of first quarter adjusted earnings," said Arnold Donald, President and Chief Executive Officer, Carnival.
Last month Carnival Maritime announced a new bunker saving collaboration with the Hamburg Vessel Coordination Center (HVCC).
