<p>NEW YORK (AP) -- Shares of Carnival Corp. plunged on Friday after the cruise operator suspended its dividend to preserve cash and help fund new ships next year without tapping the credit markets.</p><p>Carnival shares plunged $3.31, or 11.5 percent, to close at $25.40. Earlier in the session, the stock touched $21.92, its lowest point since 2003. During the past 52 weeks, the stock has traded between $23.53 and $48.25.<br />&nbsp;<br />The suspension will go into effect after the company's December payout of 40 cents per share. Carnival plans to maintain the suspension throughout 2009, but said it will reevaluate its policy throughout the year.</p><p>In a conference call with investors, Carnival executives said the company's capital expenditures in 2009 are expected to total $3.4 billion as the company takes delivery of 5 new ships. The move is expected to lead to annual savings of about $1.3 billion.</p><p>&quot;While the equity will get beaten down as yield investors exit, we believe long-term this was a prudent move by a forward looking management team in order to protect against a material downturn in business conditions,&quot; said Stifel Nicolaus &amp; Co. analyst Steven Wieczynski in a note to investors. The analyst, who maintained a &quot;Buy&quot; rating on the stock, said Carnival's cash flow and liquidity remain strong.</p><p>Carnival also warned investors on Friday that bookings slowed further during the financial market turmoil of the past six weeks. Upon reporting third-quarter results on Tuesday, rival Royal Caribbean Cruises also warned investors that its new bookings deteriorated during September, blaming the economic crisis.</p><p>For 2009, Carnival predicted that net revenue yields, a key profitability gauge, will decline between 1 percent and 5 percent.</p><p>In a note to investors, Analyst Robert LaFleur of Susquehanna Financial Group said the slowdown is likely a reflection of consumer &quot;panic&quot; related to the financial market meltdown.</p><p>&quot;While yields will clearly take a hit next year, we expect booking patterns to settle down in the next few months, and that some of the future bookings that have not been made the past six weeks or so will eventually materialize,&quot; LaFleur wrote. &quot;That said, we expect 2009 will be tough -- not as bad as post-9/11 -- but very difficult.&quot;</p><p>Despite the gloomy outlook, Carnival boosted its 2008 earnings guidance, mostly due to falling oil prices.</p><p>Carnival now expects full-year profit of $2.81 to $2.83 per share, up from its prior guidance range of $2.79 to $2.81 per share. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect earnings of $2.82 per share.</p><p>Carnival forecast 2009 profit between $2.50 and $3 per share, compared with analysts' consensus forecast of $2.78 per share.</p><p>&nbsp;</p>