(AP) Carnival Corp., the world's largest cruise operator, said Friday fiscal fourth-quarter earnings jumped 20 percent on new capacity and the continued rise of ticket prices and onboard revenues. But its shares fell 4 percent as it said that earnings next year would be lower than analysts expected.

For the September-to-November period, the Miami-based company reported net income of $353 million, or 43 cents a share, compared to $294 million, or 36 cents a share, a year earlier. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial expected 41 cents a share, on average.

"It is a testament to the resilience of our cruise business that despite an approximate 50 percent increase in fuel costs for the quarter and the worst hurricane season in our history, we were still able to grow earnings by 20 percent to achieve record fourth quarter results," said Micky Arison, chairman and chief executive.

Revenues climbed 14.4 percent to $2.57 billion from $2.24 billion. Apart from rising ticket prices and onboard revenues, a 9.1 percent increase in shipboard capacity drove growth.

Net revenue yields, a key gauge of profitability that measures net income earned from passengers per day from cruise tickets and onboard sales, rose 5.9 percent in the quarter.

For the full fiscal year, Carnival reported earnings of $2.26 billion, or $2.70 a share, on revenues of $11.09 billion, compared to $1.85 billion, or $2.24 a share, on revenues of $9.73 billion in fiscal 2004. Analysts expected $2.70 a share, according to Thomson Financial.

Carnival shares fell $2.19, or 4 percent, to close at $52.65 Friday on the New York Stock Exchange. The stock has traded in a 52-week range of $45.78 to $58.98.

Arison said advance bookings and prices for trips to be taken next year are also up, but fuel costs were expected to rise 60 percent in the first quarter. Carnival expects 2006 earnings per share will be between $3.00 and $3.10, below the $3.14 expected by analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial.

Net revenue yields rose 6.5 percent for the year, but are expected to fall to more normal levels of 1 percent to 3 percent next year. Yields have increased rapidly over the past two years as the company recovered from the tourism industry's falloff after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

In September, Carnival chartered three ships to the federal government to house Hurricane Katrina victims for six months, but some lawmakers have said it was a "sweetheart" deal worth up to $236 million. Chief Financial Officer Gerald Cahill said the net profit for the charters was equal to what the company would have earned if they were operated normally.

The company operates 79 ships across 12 brands, including Carnival Cruise Lines, Princess Cruises and Cunard Line. Another 16 ships are on order to enter service by 2009, including four the company this week asked Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri to build.

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