Carnival cut chairman's bonus in fiscal 2011

Feb 3 (Reuters) - Carnival Corp said on Friday that it cut the annual cash bonus of Chairman and Chief Executive Micky Arison by 16 percent in fiscal 2011, a move that preceded the wreck last month of its cruise ship Costa Concordia off the coast of Italy.

The 62-year-old Arison's bonus was $2.07 million, down from $2.46 million in fiscal 2010. The world's largest cruise ship group cut cash bonuses by an average of 13 percent after missing profit goals, according to a proxy filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The company's performance for the fiscal year that ended Nov. 30 was hurt by higher fuel costs and natural disasters, such as the earthquake in Japan.

Arison's salary and bonus in 2011 was $3 million, a 10.8 percent drop from the previous year, the proxy said. Pier Luigi Foschi, who runs Carnival's Genoa, Italy-based Costa Crociere unit, received $2.06 million in salary and bonus, a 6 percent drop from the previous year.

Foschi made global headlines when he blamed the wreck of the Costa Concordia on the ship's captain. The 290 metre-long Costa Concordia capsized and foundered close to the Tuscan island of Giglio on Jan. 13, after it struck a rock which tore a large gash in its hull. At least 17 people died in the accident and 15 others are still missing.

When Carnival's salary and target bonus goals were set, Carnival forecast an 18 percent increase in actual operating income for fiscal 2011. Actual operating income, however, dropped by 3.9 percent, the company said.