Royal Caribbean 2nd-qtr loss wider than expected

Wed Jul 29, 10:28 am ETMIAMI

Royal Caribbean Cruises said Wednesday it took a loss in the second quarter as people booked fewer cruises amid concerns over swine flu and the recession.The Miami company said the swine flu virus hurt earnings by 5 cents per share and is expected to hurt third-quarter and full-year results as well.Shares tumbled $1.23, or 7.5 percent, to $15.16 in morning trading.Royal Caribbean's quarterly loss totaled $35.1 million, or 16 cents per share, compared with a profit of $84.7 million, or 40 cents per share, last year.Revenue fell 15 percent to $1.35 billion from $1.58 billion a year agoAnalysts polled by Thomson Reuters predicted a loss of 13 cents per share on revenue of $1.36 billion.The company also offered third-quarter and full-year earnings guidance below analyst expectations.It expects third-quarter earnings between 95 cents and $1 per share in the third quarter and 70 cents to 70 cents for the year. That includes a drag on earnings related to the swine flu, also known as the H1N1 flu, of 18 cents per share in the third quarter and 27 cents per share for the year.Analysts expect earnings of $1.22 per share in the third quarter and 94 cents for the year."Obviously, the economy continues to be a challenge and the impact from the publicity surrounding H1N1 has been very frustrating," Richard D. Fain, chairman and CEO said in a statement.Aside from flu concerns, the company said summer bookings have been stable outside of Spain. Also, new bookings for the fall have started to outpace the same time last year, although booked load factor, or occupancy, and prices remain lower than last year's levels.