Fincantieri, the Italian company that is the world’s largest cruise ship builder, has confirmed upbeat guidance for the rest of the year and says it expects 141 cruise ships to return to service by the end of this year.

Fincantieri reported a first half net profit of €6 million compared to a loss of €133 million in the same period last year. Revenues rose to €3.29 billion from €2.37 billion.

The company confirmed its guidance foe 2021 by saying it expects revenues to rise by more than 25% and EBITDA margin at 7%, respectively,  despite increasing commodity prices.

Consistently with previous plans and accordingly to the cruise deliveries schedule in the second half, the group’s net financial position as of July 31, 2021 amounts to negative €1.2 billion, taking into account receipts of €1.5 billion, following the delivery of three cruise vessels in the month

“The cruise business has been severely affected by the pandemic, however, based on the schedules released on July 13 by cruise ship operators, a significant resumption of activities is now to be expected: 141 cruise ships will be back in service by the end of July, with 50 brands already sailing worldwide,” Fincantieri said in a statement. 

Some cruise operators see bookings rise above trend

“The resumption of cruise operations, along with the growing booking trend and the confidence in the main cruise companies demonstrated by the financial markets, shows yet again the sector’s resilience. Indeed, most cruise operators witnessed an increase in bookings, a trend that is not just consistent with historical ones, but for some operators is actually higher,” the company said.

Net debt will adjust, at year-end, to expected values lower than the peak registered in March and in line with 2020 year-end. Such dynamic shows once again how Net Debt is significantly affected by both production program and delivery schedule.

“Moreover, it should be noted that the potential stabilisation of commodities’ prices to higher levels than those recorded at the beginning of 2021, with potential effects on future production, as of today, is not deemed to have significant effects on the margins in the medium term,” the company said. 

“The stability is assured, among other things, by the benefits of ongoing investments to make the production process even more efficient and more technologically advanced.”