Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd (NYSE: RCL) early Friday posted solid first quarter earnings results and unveiled a major new share repurchase plan.

Written by StockNews.com

The Miami-based cruise line operator reported Q1:

• earnings per share (EPS) of $0.99, which was $0.06 better than the Wall Street consensus estimate of $0.93,
• revenues rose 4.7% from last year to $2.01 billion, slightly missing analysts’ view for $2.02 billion.

Additionally, RCL’s board of directors approved a new $500 million stock buyback plan.

Looking ahead, RCL:

• forecast full-year 2017 EPS of $7.00 to $7.20, up from a prior outlook of $6.90 to $7.10, and in-line with Wall Street’s consensus estimate of $7.07 and
• noted that its booked position remains at a record level, with net yields expected to gain 4.5% to 6.0%, excluding currency effects.

Richard D. Fain, chairman and CEO commented as follows:

“Our progress continues on a steady upward path toward our Double-Double goals.

The year started off with a very positive tone and the tone has only continued to please.

We are looking forward to our fifth consecutive year of double-digit earnings growth.”

...Year-to-date, RCL had gained 23.11% prior to today’s report, versus a 7.21% rise in the benchmark S&P 500 index during the same period.

RCL currently has a StockNews.com POWR Rating of A (Strong Buy), and is ranked #2 of 5 stocks in the Travel – Cruises category.