24th Jun 2021 15:25
(Alliance News) - Carnival PLC is starting to gain momentum with the cruise ship operator saying on Thursday that future bookings are surging, while its loss begins to narrow.
Carnival shares fell 2.2% at to 1,681.60 pence each in London on Thursday afternoon after jumping to 1,739.20p at 1430 GMT.
The cruise-ship operator said US GAAP net loss for the six months to May 31 narrowed to USD4.05 billion from USD5.16 billion a year prior.
In the three months to May 31, GAAP net loss was halved to USD2.07 billion from USD4.37 billion a year ago.
Carnival Chief Executive Arnold Donald said: "We are working aggressively on our path to return our full fleet to operations by next spring. So far, we have announced that 42 ships, representing over half of our capacity, have been scheduled to return to serving guests by this fiscal year end. We are currently evaluating various deployment options with a focus on maximizing cash flow, while delivering a great guest experience and serving the best interests of public health."
Looking ahead, booking volumes for all future cruises during the second quarter of 2021 were 45% higher than booking volumes during the first quarter of 2021, the company noted.
On top of this, cumulative advanced bookings for 2022 are "ahead of a very strong 2019, despite minimal advertising or marketing".
"Despite our minimal advertising spend, we continue to experience an acceleration in booking trends globally, including capturing significant latent demand for our new sailings this summer. This strong demand affirms confidence in our future. In addition, customer deposits grew this past quarter, a significant milestone on our path to resumption," Donald said.
By Greg Roxburgh; [email protected]
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