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Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings said winter bookings were very strong, but first-quarter net income dropped 15%, chiefly due to higher maintenance and repair costs.
In a conference call with analysts, company CEO Frank Del Rio said the quarter was a solid start to the year.
“This was the best Wave season that we and the rest of the industry have seen in a long time,” Del Rio said.
Norwegian is in a better booked position, at higher rates, than at the same time last year. Del Rio said European bookings in particular have been in demand, even as NCLH increased capacity by transferring the Norwegian Getaway from the Caribbean to the Baltic for the summer. In the second quarter, 27% of NCLH capacity is in the Caribbean and 30% in Europe.
He said new itineraries to Cuba a performing “extremely well” in both booking volume and pricing, a start he called “very encouraging.” Next year, itineraries that feature a call in Cuba will represent 2.1% of NCLH capacity, Del Rio said.
The only discouraging development was a pause in bookings by Chinese wholesalers in March, April and May, when NCLH had to re-arrange guests on new itineraries when cruises to South Korea were put off limits by the Chinese governmen.
NCLH isn’t scheduled to begin sailing its first ship dedicated to the Chinese market until late June, when the Norwegian Joy arrives in Shanghai. Del Rio said it built some conservatism into its financial projections because of a lack of operating history in China.
First-quarter net income was $61.9 million, down from $73.2 million a year earlier. One reason for the reduced profit was the cost to tow and fix the Norwegian Star. The ship lost propulsion on Feb. 10 and had to be towed to Melbourne, Australia, for five days of repairs. Norwegian didn’t put a dollar figure on the repairs.
First-quarter revenue rose 6.8% to a record $1.15 billion, partly on the addition of two ships: Oceania Cruises’ Sirena and Regent Seven Seas Cruises’ Seven Seas Explorer.
NCLH raised its full-year forecast for adjusted net income by roughly $9 million, to a range of between $860 million and $883 million. Adjusted net income in 2016 was $776.3 million.
Sоurсе: travelweekly.com
