An upbeat projection for growth of the cruise sector has come from the world’s largest ports operator.
Global Ports Holding, which expects to end the year managing 23 ports, said further expansion remains a “key focus”.
The group, which handled 6.8 million passengers in the nine months to December 31, said: “Despite the unprecedented nature of the Covid-19 crisis and its significant impact on our business, we have continued to grow the number of cruise ports in our network.
“We look forward to welcoming more ports into our network in the year ahead.”
GPH expects annual adjusted earnings [ebitda] to reach more than $65 million after seeing the figure rise to $59.1 million for the nine months against $4.4 million for the same period the previous year.
The company, which has a portfolio of ports including Barcelona, Malta, Nassau and Antigua, described the outlook for the cruise industry as “very positive”.
The firm is carrying out a strategic review of its capital and financing structure “in the light of the continued emergence of significant and exciting opportunities in our cruise business” with an announcement to be made “as appropriate”.
GPH added: “The major cruise lines have reported a record-breaking 2023 wave season, the global cruise fleet is now fully deployed and occupancy rates, which returned to pre-Covid 19 levels in some markets during 2022, are expected to be at pre-Covid 19 levels across the global cruise fleet by summer 2023.
“Longer-term, the outlook for the cruise industry continues to be positive as well.
“The passenger capacity of the industry is forecasted to grow by 45% by 2027, from 2019 levels. There are 75 cruise ships currently in the cruise ship order book and due for delivery by 2027.
“This growth in the number of ships and the size of ships means that many cruise ports will need to invest in their infrastructure in order to be able to accommodate the new larger ships. There is no better example of this type of investment than GPH’s significant investments into Antigua cruise port and Nassau.
“Despite the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on GPH and the cruise industry, our investment to increase the capacity of these ports and transform the passenger experience has largely continued as planned over the last two years; this demonstrates the commitment of GPH and our partners to our ports and destinations.”
The company added: “The combination of capacity growth and strong passenger demand reflects the strength of the industry and the success of the industry’s segmentation strategy.
“The need globally for significant investment into cruise port assets and GPH’s experience and know-how in cruise port operations and port and destination development means GPH has a distinct competitive advantage when bidding for new cruise port concessions.”