Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings has reported a “record” total revenue for the second consecutive quarter.
The company, which operates Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises, said it achieved a total revenue of $2.5 billion for the three months to September 30, up by 33% compared to the same period in 2019.
It cited a “solid revenue performance and continued focus on cost reduction”, for its Q3 results, while revenue per passenger cruise day increased by approximately 16% compared to pre-pandemic levels.
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Cumulative booked position for the fourth quarter is at “record levels”, and the company remains within its “optimal booked position” for the next year, NCLH said.
As of September 30, the company said its advance ticket sales balance was $3.1 billion, approximately 59% higher than the third quarter in 2019.
The company also reported its third consecutive quarter of operating cost improvement since its margin enhancement initiative was implemented, as adjusted net cruise costs excluding fuel per capacity day dropped from $156 in Q2 to $152 in Q3.
In response to the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict, the company has cancelled and redirected all calls to Israel and certain ports in the surrounding region for the remainder of 2023 and is in the process of cancelling all calls to Israel in 2024.
As a result, NCLH is expecting an occupancy drop from 106.1% for Q3 to 102.6% for the full year compared to 2019 levels.
NCLH president and chief executive Harry Sommer said: “We achieved strong third quarter results, meeting or beating guidance on all key metrics, driven not only by healthy demand from our target upmarket consumer, but also as our ongoing margin enhancement initiative, including relentless efforts to rightsize our cost base, continues to bear fruit.
“Looking ahead, while we are prudently moderating short term expectations and keeping a close eye on rapidly evolving global macroeconomic and geopolitical events, we remain encouraged by our strong forward booked position and robust pricing and are focused on sustaining this momentum as we close out 2023.
“I am confident that we are taking the right steps today to best position us to deliver on our goals of rebuilding margins, generating outsized returns on our disciplined capacity growth, reducing leverage and maintaining best-in-class product and service offerings which we believe will drive value for all of our stakeholders.”