Royal Caribbean 2Q profit rises fivefold, tops forecast

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (RCL) on Thursday reported earnings that rose fivefold in its second quarter, and topped analysts' expectations.

The Miami-based company said profit increased to $137.7 million, or 62 cents per share, from $24.7 million, or 11 cents per share, in the same quarter a year earlier.

Earnings, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, came to 66 cents per share. The average per-share estimate of analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for profit of 53 cents.

The cruise operator said revenue climbed 5.2 percent to $1.98 billion from $1.88 billion in the same quarter a year ago, and missed Wall Street forecasts. Analysts expected $1.99 billion, according to Zacks.

Royal Caribbean shares have increased $8.81, or 19 percent, to $56.23 since the beginning of the year. The stock has risen $19.86, or 55 percent, in the last 12 months.

This story was generated automatically by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Full RCL report: http://www.zacks.com/ap/RCL

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Keywords:Royal Caribbean,Earnings Report