Sep. 22--Shares of Carnival Corp., the world's largest cruise line, rallied Tuesday as the company bolstered its financial outlook for 2009 and announced better-than-expected results in the third-quarter.

The stock price rose as much as 9.2 percent during mid-day trading to close at $33.52 per share, up $1.52 from Monday's close. Officials said booking volumes for the rest of the year and first-half of 2010 are about 19 percent ahead of the prior year, a sign consumers are taking advantage of promotions and once-again starting to book cruises early.

The Miami-based company now is forecasting earnings of $2.16 to $2.20 per share, versus the previous range of $2 to $2.10 per share.

Still occupancy and pricing levels are down, which has impacted returns, officials said. Profits in the third quarter were $1.07 billion or $1.33 per share, down from $1.3 billion or $1.65 per share, in the third quarter last year. Revenues slid 14.6 percent to $4.1 billion, compared with $4.8 billion in the year-ago period.

Carnival Chairman and CEO Micky Arison said the company would consider re-instating a stock dividend, if there's a turn in business marked by more stable cruise prices and if the company can maintain cash liquidity and high credit ratings.

In addition, Arison told analysts that its unlikely the company will be able to secure any new ship orders by year's end, though it does have plans to grow its brands in the future.

Jaclyn Giovis can be reached at 954-356-4668 or jmgiovis@sunsentinel.com.

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