Royal Caribbean (RCL) reported fourth-quarter earnings of $0.01 per share this morning, falling short of the Street consensus estimate of $0.07 per share. The company stated that bookings began to weaken in September, and net cruise yields declined as a result.

Despite the slowdown in demand, the company benefited from the impact of recently enacted cost-containment actions. RCL was hurt by the impact of foreign currency changes during the quarter, and especially by the impact of higher-than-expected fuel prices. The company stated that at-the-pump fuel prices lagged overall declines in crude prices, and as a result, fuel expense was $0.17 per share higher than the company had previously anticipated.

Looking forward, management stated in the press release that demand environment remains weak, although there are signs that aggressive pricing actions have positively impacted booking volumes. Customers appear to be delaying cruise decisions, and are booking travel closer to the actual cruise date than has historically been the case.

Management issued fiscal 2009 earnings guidance of approximately $1.40 per share, which is below the current consensus estimate of $1.67, but well above an estimate for a substantial loss per share issued by one brokerage firm yesterday that received significant media coverage.

Our rating and estimates are under review, pending our analysis of the company's financials and review of this morning's conference call.