UPDATE 1-Royal Caribbean sees profit hit after cancelling three cruises amid coronavirus outbreak

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd said on Wednesday its 2020 earnings would be hurt after it canceled three trips of its China-based cruise liner following discussions with health authorities over the coronavirus outbreak.

The U.S. cruise operator said cancellations would trim its earnings by about 10 cents per share, and it would take an additional 10-cent hit if travel restrictions in China continued until the end of February. The fast-spreading outbreak has killed more than 130 people and infected almost 6,000 in China.

Several countries including Japan and U.S. are trying to evacuate their citizens from the quarantined city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak. Airports around the world are screening passengers from China, while foreign companies are curbing travel to the country and airlines are cutting flights.

"There are still too many variables and uncertainties regarding this outbreak to calculate the overall impact on the business," the company said. Royal Caribbean added that if the travel restrictions continued for an extended period of time, it could materially impact the company's overall financial performance.

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