Royal Caribbean Group reported a strong booking position as demand for North American and European departures grows following a net loss of $500.2 million for the final quarter of 2022.
The group, which operates Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Silversea Cruises and is a 50% owner of a joint venture that operates Tui Cruises and Hapag-Lloyd Cruises, claimed a “record-breaking” wave season.
Bookings for European itineraries had been “accelerating” during the current wave period and were now higher than pre-pandemic 2019.
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The seven biggest booking weeks in its history have occurred since the middle of November 2022, the company added.
The group also said the booking window was continuing to move “back to normal” and added North America departures were “leading the way”.
However, despite reporting a total revenue of $2.6 billion for the last quarter of 2022, the cruising giant made a loss of $500.2 million.
Royal Caribbean Group went on to say that it was “very encouraged” about customer demand for the year ahead, adding that booking volumes in the fourth quarter were “significantly higher” than the same period in 2019.
As of December 31, 2022, the group’s customer deposit balance stood at a record $4.2 billion and its liquidity position was $2.9 billion, which includes cash, undrawn credit facility capacity and a $700 million 364-day loan facility.
Load factors for the fourth quarter stood at 95%, with Caribbean sailings reaching 100%.
But overall load factors for the year were 85% with the full fleet resuming operations in June 2022.
President Jason Liberty said: “2022 was a pivotal year as we successfully returned our business to full operations and delivered memorable vacation experiences to six million guests.
“We also returned to positive adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (ebitda) and operating cash flow by consistently growing revenue and controlling costs.
“We are experiencing a record-breaking wave season, resulting in a booked position approaching previous record highs and at higher prices.”
He added: “This, along with the normalisation of our booking window, provides the visibility for us to provide annual guidance.
“The combination of our industry-leading global brands, most innovative fleet, nimble sourcing and our continued focus on profitability positions us well to deliver record yields and Adjusted EBITDA in 2023.”
Looking ahead, the group expects net yields to increase from 0.5% to 1.5% during the first quarter of 2023, with load factors reaching 100%.
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