Royal Caribbean Shares Rise After Share Repurchase Program Announced, Guidance Raised

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. shares rose 2.5% in Friday premarket trading after the cruise company announced a $500 million share repurchase program and raised its full-year guidance. First-quarter net income was $214.7 million, or 99 cents per share, up from $99.1 million, or 46 cents per share, for the last year period. The FactSet consensus was 92 cents per share. Demand for the Caribbean drove earnings outperformance, the company said. Revenue was $2.01 billion, up from $1.92 billion last year and in line with the FactSet consensus. Royal Caribbean raised it full-year 2017 adjusted EPS guidance to a range of $7.00 to $7.20 from $6.90 to $7.10, based on first-quarter results. The FactSet consensus is $7.06. The company expects second-quarter adjusted EPS in the range of $1.60 to $1.65, ahead of the $1.43 per share FactSet consensus. Royal Caribbean shares are up 32.2% for the past year while the S&P 500 index is up 15.1% for the period.