TUI AG, the German tourism group, has reported an improved performance for its cruise operations that comprise of Hapag-Lloyd Kreutzfahrten and a 50% stake in TUI Cruises on the recovery of the first-named company and continued strength of TUI Cruises.
“Following a weak performance in the first half of the year, additionally impacted by two dry-dock periods of Europa, Hapag-Lloyd delivered a positive development in the third quarter of 2013/14. TUI Cruises continued to record a very successful business performance, also driven by the commissioning of Mein Schiff 3 in June 2014,” the company said in a statement.
In the third quarter of its financial year, TUI’s cruise operations generated revenues of €63.9 million, slightly down from €67.4 million in the same period a year earlier. Operating result (EBITA) improved to €1.7 million from €0.8 million.
Fos the first nine months of the 2013-14 financial year, the revenues reached €213.1 million, an increase from €188.0 million year-on. EBITA improved to negative by €1.7 million compared to a figure negative by €59.2 million in the same period a year earlier.
“TUI Cruises commissioned the first new built vessel, the ‘Mein Schiff 3’; the fleet expansion is now being turned into action with the two vessels on order to be delivered until 2017. The rising demand for the luxury cruise segment of Hapag-Lloyd Kreuzfahrten in the third quarter, sup- ports the turnaround in the Cruise Sector in the full financial year,” the company said.
Sharp increase in turnover in the nine month period was driven by the capacity expansion due to the commissioning of the Europa 2 that joined the Hapag-Lloyd fleet in the summer of 2013. “As the joint venture TUI Cruises is measured at equity in the consolidated financial statements, no turnover is shown for TUI Cruises,” TUI AG said.
“In the first nine months of 2013/14, the Cruises Sector had to carry adjustments of €16.0m for the utilisation of provisions formed in the prior year for pending losses from occupancy risks at Hapag-Lloyd Kreutzfahrten,” TUI AG pointed out.
In the first nine months of 2013/14, occupancy of the fleet operated by Hapag-Lloyd Kreuzfahrten declined by 4.1 percentage points versus the prior year to 66.8%. “A total of 314,993 passenger days were generated, up 10.0% year-on-year. This was mainly attributable to the operation of Europa 2, which had been commissioned in May 2013 and therefore not yet been fully included in the relevant prior-year reference period. The accumulated average rate per passenger per day grew by 3.2% to €422 in the first nine months,” TUI AG said.
Following the scheduled decommissioning of Columbus 2, which has been redelivered to Oceania Cruises and for whom it has re-entered service as Insignia following a refit, from the fleet in the third quarter 2013/14, Hapag-Lloyd will focus on luxury and expedition cruises in future. “It will engage in international marketing activities in each of the segments with Europa 2 in the luxury segment and Hanseatic in the expedition cruise segment. Europa and Bremen will only be offered in the German-speaking market in future,” TUI AG said
In the first nine months of 2013/14, TUI Cruises continued to record a very positive development of the operating indicators of its fleet. At 101.0%, occupancy rose by 0.9 percentage points year-on-year (based on double occupancy). The continued high load factor was driven by Mein Schiff 1 and 2 with their trade lanes Caribbean and Canaries (winter season 2013/14) and Nordland/Baltic Sea (summer season 2014). Mein Schiff 3, the third ship of the fleet, started its operation towards the end of the period under review in June 2014 with its maiden voyage to
10 Majorca. In the first nine months of 2013/14, TUI Cruises recorded a total of 1,070,835 passen- ger days. The average rate per passenger per day was €158, up 7.5% year-on-year.