Carnival says momentum “bodes well for 2023”
Written by Nick Blenkey
Carnival Corporation CEO Josh Weinstein: “We believe we are accelerating our return to strong profitability through our fleet and brand portfolio.”
When is a U.S. GAAP net loss of $1.6 billion and adjusted net loss of $1.1 billion any kind of good news? When you’re Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL) and analysts had predicted worse. Shares in the world’s largest cruise ship operator were up more than 5% at noon today as the company released its fourth quarter numbers. Highlights included:
- U.S. GAAP net loss of $1.6 billion, or $(1.27) diluted EPS and adjusted net loss of $1.1 billion, or $(0.85) adjusted EPS, for the fourth quarter of 2022
- Adjusted EBITDA for the fourth quarter of 2022 was $(96) million, within the previous guidance range of breakeven to slightly negative, despite an approximate $40 million unfavorable impact from fuel price and currency rates since forecasted information was provided in the Third Quarter Business Update.
- Adjusted EBITDA for the second half of 2022 was $207 million, inclusive of an increased investment in advertising to drive revenue in 2023.
- For the cruise segment, revenue per passenger cruise day (“PCD”) for the fourth quarter of 2022 increased 0.5% (3.8% in constant dollar) compared to a strong 2019, overcoming the dilutive impact of future cruise credits (“FCCs”), and better than the third quarter of 2022 which decreased 4.1% (2.1% in constant dollar) compared to 2019.
- Occupancy in the fourth quarter of 2022 was 19 percentage points below 2019 levels, on capacity in guest cruise operations approaching 2019 levels. This was better than the third quarter which was 29 percentage points below 2019 levels on 8% lower capacity than 2019.
- The company’s full year 2023 cumulative advanced booked position is higher than its historical average at higher prices in constant currency, normalized for FCCs, as compared to a strong 2019.
- Total customer deposits hit a fourth quarter record of $5.1 billion as of November 30, 2022, surpassing the previous record of $4.9 billion as of November 30, 2019.
- Fourth quarter 2022 ended with $8.6 billion of liquidity.
“Throughout 2022, we have successfully returned our fleet to service, aggressively building occupancy on growing capacity, while driving revenue per passenger cruise day higher than 2019 record levels, both in the fourth quarter and full year overall,” said Carnival Corporation CEO Josh Weinstein. “We have also actively managed down our costs while investing to build future demand.”
Weinstein continued, “Booking volumes strengthened following the relaxation in protocols, cancelation trends are improving globally, and we have seen a measurable lengthening in the booking curve, across all brands. The momentum has continued into December, which bodes well for 2023 overall as more markets open for cruise travel, protocols continue to relax, our closer to home itineraries play out, our stepped-up advertising efforts pay dividends and our brands continue to hone all aspects of their revenue generating activities.”
Weinstein added, “We believe we are accelerating our return to strong profitability through our fleet and brand portfolio management which is delivering prudent capacity growth weighted toward our highest returning brands and amplified by nearly a quarter of our fleet consisting of newly delivered vessels.”
Categories: Cruise Ships, News
