Royal Caribbean is working to meet the CDC’s conditions for resuming the cruise, but “much uncertainty remains as to the specifics, timing and cost of implementing its requirements.” Here, a Royal Caribbean ship is anchored in the port of Miami.
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Strongly hit by the pandemic,
Royal Caribbean Group
lost $ 1.1 billion, or $ 5.02 per share, in the fourth quarter, on an adjusted basis, compared to a profit of $ 1.42 per share a year earlier as revenue fell to 34, $ 1 million, up from $ 2.5 billion.
Royal Caribbean (scorer: RCL), like his colleagues, suspended most of his operations for almost a year because of Covid. With most of its fleet inactive, the company has spent hundreds of millions of dollars every month.
In a press release on Monday, the Miami-based company estimated that its monthly cash burns were between $ 250 million and $ 290 million “during a prolonged suspension of operations.”
As of December 31, the company’s liquidity totaled approximately $ 4.4 billion. Last year, to consolidate its liquidity, Royal Caribbean raised about $ 9.3 billion in new capital, including debt and equity.
Royal Caribbean has not provided financial guidance for this year, except that it expects to have losses based on generally accepted accounting principles and adjusted for the first quarter and full year of 2021. Chief Financial Officer Jason Liberty told analysts in the quarter IV earnings say Monday morning that “the timing and trajectory of recovery remain uncertain.”
When trading on the stock exchange in the middle of the morning, Royal Caribbean shares increased by 10%, around $ 86.60.
Speaking to analysts, CEO Richard Fain said lots had happened from a Royal Caribbean-sponsored Covid protocol group and
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings
(NCLH) launched its recommendations last autumn. Since then, Covid vaccines have been in development.
“We continue to work with the group” and “identify the safest way to follow in the new post-vaccine environment, when we can protect our guests and crew like never before,” said Fain, adding that the company has successfully resumed several cruises from Singapore.
A key question is when Royal Caribbean will be able to resume operations in and from US ports. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a conditional navigation order at the end of October, but the timetable remains uncertain.
The company said it “continues to prepare and develop its plan to meet the framework” of this order.
“Although the framework is an important step towards returning to service, many uncertainties remain as to the specifics, timing and cost of implementing its requirements,” the statement said.
Royal said it expects to resume its global cruise operation “in a phased manner, with initial cruises having reduced guest occupancy, modified itineraries and improved health and safety protocols”.
Cruise operators have suffered a recent hurdle when the Canadian government extended its ban on large cruise ships for another year. It may have an impact on Alaska cruises, which are popular in the summer.
Royal Caribbean said in a press release on Monday that bookings for the second half of this year were “in line with the cruise company’s early resumption”.
Based on GAAP, Royal Caribbean lost $ 6.09 per share in the fourth quarter, compared to a profit of $ 1.30 per share a year earlier.
For all of 2020, the company lost $ 27.05 per share on a GAAP basis and $ 18.31 on an adjusted basis, reflecting the huge impact of pandemic closure operations.
In 2019, before the pandemic hit, the company earned $ 8.95 on a GAAP basis and $ 9.54 on an adjusted basis.
Corrections and amplifications
Royal Caribbean raised about $ 9.3 billion in new capital last year. An earlier version of this article incorrectly omitted the billion.
Write to Lawrence C. Strauss at [email protected]