Norwegian Cruises Line Holdings Ltd. (NYSE: NCLH) released its first-quarter FY22 earnings on Tuesday, May 10, 2022, before the market opened. Here is an overview of the latest disclosure.
- Revenue: $521.9 million reported vs. $654.84 million expected
- EPS: ($2.03) adjusted vs. ($1.73) expected
- Adjusted Net Loss: $668.6 million
Despite missing the estimates, the NCLH stock was up by 1.32% and traded at $16.16 (gaining 0.21 points) in the pre-market trading session on Tuesday.
The Russia-Ukraine conflict resulted in the cancellation or modification of approximately 60 sailings in 2022, which included all voyages with calls to ports in Russia. Three ships were redeployed as a result of the conflict including Norwegian Getaway to Port Canaveral, Oceania Cruises’ Marina to the British Isles and Regent’s Seven Seas Splendor to Northern Europe. In addition, the Company has also removed all calls to ports in Russia from its itineraries in 2023.
CEO’s Statement
“Last week we reached the biggest milestone yet in our Great Cruise Comeback as Norwegian Spirit, the last ship in our fleet to resume sailing, welcomed guests on board in Papeete, Tahiti. The herculean effort to restart our fleet would not have been possible without the incredible fortitude of the entire Norwegian team and the unwavering support of our key partners and stakeholders around the world. Looking ahead, our strategy is to ramp up occupancy in a disciplined manner with the goal of exceeding historical Net Yield1 levels for full year 2023 while maintaining the high guest satisfaction scores and strong onboard revenue generation we are currently experiencing. We are encouraged that consumer demand remains robust with net booking volumes not only back to pre-Omicron levels but now approaching historical levels despite a temporary retreat due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Pricing remains very strong for all future periods and our value-add bundling strategy is working better than ever.”
said Frank Del Rio, President and Chief Executive Officer of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd
Analysts Estimate
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the loss per share was pinned at $1.73. This indicated a substantial gain of 14.78% year-over-year. Moreover, it also suggested a modest increase of 11.28% than that of the last quarter.
The Earnings Expected Surprise Prediction was 0.00%, which suggested that the consensus did expect Norwegian Cruises to meet the estimates for the first quarter. Moreover, the estimated revenue was pegged at $654.84 million. This suggested a whopping growth of 21,023.71% year-over-year.
Earnings History
In the fourth quarter, Norwegian Cruises continued to execute on the phased relaunch plans for its 28-ship fleet. Beginning in December 2021, the spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19, with its increased transmissibility, caused several operational challenges and disruptions, including additional travel restrictions, increased health-related protocols, and certain port closures, which led to the temporary and voluntary cancellation of certain voyages in the fourth quarter of 2021 and first quarter of 2022, and the postponement of the restart of certain of our vessels.
By year end 2021, the Norwegian Cruises had approximately 70% of its capacity operating, or 75% when including a vessel that had returned to service and subsequently paused due to the inoperability of its scheduled voyages in South Africa during the height of its Omicron surge.
Strong ticket pricing and onboard revenue spend drove positive contribution from the fleet that operated in the quarter. Occupancy in the fourth quarter of 2021 was 51.4% reflecting the Company’s self-imposed occupancy limits, the effect of COVID-related booking cancellations and a significant capacity increase from the prior quarter.
Earnings Forecast
Zacks analysts estimate the loss to be at $0.73 per share in the second quarter of FY22, indicating a huge increase of 63.21% year-over-year. Moreover, the revenue is estimated at $1.24 billion, indicating a massive growth of 28,243.59% from this year.
