Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH), the world’s third largest listed cruise shipping company, said it expects to report a loss for the second quarter despite strong pricing as booking volumes remain below pre-Covid 19 levels.
“As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, most recently fueled by the Omicron variant and the effects of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, while the Company cannot estimate the impact on its business, financial condition or near- or longer-term financial or operational results with certainty, it will report a net loss for the second quarter of 2022,” the company said in a statement.
NCLH dis not provide estimated future results on a GAAP basis because it is unable to predict, with reasonable certainty, the future movement of foreign exchange rates or the future impact of certain gains and charges. “These items are uncertain and will depend on several factors, including industry conditions, and could be material to the Company’s results computed in accordance with GAAP,” it said in a statement.
As a result of the temporary setbacks from Omicron and the Russia-Ukraine conflict, NCLH’s current cumulative booked position for the second half of 2022 is below the comparable 2019 period but at meaningfully higher pricing even when including the dilutive impact of future cruise credits (“FCCs”).
The booked position improves throughout the year with the fourth quarter of 2022 in line with the comparable 2019 period and at meaningfully higher prices. “Booking trends for 2023 continue to be positive with both booked position and pricing significantly higher and at record levels when compared to bookings for 2019 and pre-pandemic 2020 at a comparable point in the booking curve,” NCLH stated.
NCLH’s advance ticket sales balance, including the long-term portion, increased $418 million in the quarter to $2.2 billion as of March 31, 2022. This includes approximately $0.6 billion of FCCs or 27% of the total deposit balance. Gross advance ticket sales build was approximately $1.1 billion during the quarter, the highest level since the start of the pandemic, it said.
