Standard & Poor’s raises Royal Caribbean outlook to ‘Stable,’ maintains ‘BB-’ credit rating

S&P boosts Royal Caribbean outlook

NEW YORK — Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services boosted its outlook on Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., saying the company will likely benefit from steadier reservations and increased ticket prices.

The increased outlook to “stable” from “negative” on Wednesday came on the same day the Miami company reported better-than-expected first-quarter results.

S&P maintained its “BB-” rating for the company.

“This reflects our increasing confidence about continued improvement in consumer spending on cruising, and moderate GDP growth in the U.S. and in Europe in 2010 and 2011,” the credit ratings agency said in a statement.

That should help the company increase a key ratio of revenue to occupancy during the year while also helping the company boost its overall revenue.

Earlier Wednesday, the owner of Royal Caribbean and Celebrity cruise lines said it earned $87.5 million, or 40 cents per share, during the three-month period that ended on March 31. That figure includes a 39-cent-a-share gain from a legal settlement. Excluding that benefit, Royal Caribbean earned a penny per share — far better than last year’s loss of $36.2 million, or 17 cents per share.

Revenue climbed 12 percent to $1.49 billion, up from $1.33 billion for the same period last year and trumped Wall Street forecasts.

Royal Caribbean shares fell $1.33, or 3.7 percent, to $34.97 in afternoon trading Wednesday.