By Sam Boughedda
Investing.com -- Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NYSE:NCLH) reported its first-quarter results on Tuesday, sending its shares over 4% higher.
Revenue missed analyst predictions of $749.67 million to reach $521.9 million. In addition, Norwegian posted a wider than expected loss, with an adjusted loss per share of $1.82, below expectations of a loss of $1.54 per share.
Despite missing forecasts, the cruise line completed its phased fleet relaunch, and its entire 28-ship fleet is now back in operation. Meanwhile, the company had 85% of its capacity in operation by the end of the first quarter.
There were around 60 cancellations or modifications to sailing due to the Russia-Ukraine war but the company stated the disruptions were short-lived.
"Looking ahead, our strategy is to ramp up occupancy in a disciplined manner with the goal of exceeding historical Net Yield levels for full year 2023 while maintaining the high guest satisfaction scores and strong onboard revenue generation we are currently experiencing," said Frank Del Rio, president and CEO of Norwegian Cruise Line.
Norwegian expects its booked position to improve throughout the year, with the fourth quarter of 2022 expected to be in line with the comparable 2019 period and at higher prices.
The company is optimistic regarding booking trends for 2023, with both booked position and pricing significantly higher and at record levels compared to 2019 bookings and pre-pandemic 2020 "at a comparable point in the booking curve."
Norwegian's advance ticket sales balance, including the long-term portion, increased by $418 million in the quarter to $2.2 billion, while it expects operating cash flow to be positive for the second quarter.
However, they expect to report a net loss for the second quarter.