Carnival Corporation & plc Provides Second Quarter 2021 Business Update
MIAMI, June 24, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK) provides second quarter 2021 business update.
Resumption of Guest Operations
Carnival Corporation & plc President and Chief Executive Officer Arnold Donald noted, "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." More return to service announcements will be coming in the weeks ahead. Donald added. "We can't wait to welcome all our valued guests and crew members back on board!"
The company is uniquely positioned for its phased resumption in cruise travel given its multiple brands which are being restarted independently and tailored to the environment of their respective source market. Eight of the company's nine brands either have resumed or have announced they plan to resume guest cruise operations by the company's fiscal year end, November 30, 2021. 27 ships, or approximately 35% of capacity, have resumed or are announced to resume by the end of the third quarter of 2021 and an additional 15 ships, or nearly 20% of capacity, are announced to resume by the end of the fourth quarter of 2021. Together these 42 ships represent over 50% of capacity. More announcements are expected in the coming weeks which will include additional ship restarts for fiscal year 2021. Consistent with the company's planned phased resumption of guest cruise operations, it expects to have its full fleet back in operation in the spring of 2022. For more detailed information on the resumption of guest cruise operations by brand as well as the specific ships and timing of their restart, see the company press release issued yesterday, June 23, 2021.
The company has been working with a number of world-leading public health, epidemiological and policy experts to support its ongoing efforts to implement enhanced health and safety protocols to help protect against and mitigate the impact of COVID-19 during cruise vacations. Initial cruises are taking place with guidance from the company's roster of medical and scientific experts and enhanced health protocols developed in conjunction with government and health authorities. Consequently, the company's brands have a comprehensive set of health and hygiene protocols that facilitate a safe and healthy return to cruise vacations. These enhanced protocols are modeled after shoreside health and mitigation guidelines as provided by each brand's respective country, and approved by all relevant regulatory authorities. Protocols will be updated based on evolving scientific and medical knowledge related to mitigation strategies.
Update on Bookings
Donald added, "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 continued, "With the aggressive actions we have already taken to optimize our portfolio and reduce capacity, we believe we are well positioned to capitalize on pent up demand and to emerge a leaner more efficient company, reinforcing our global industry leading position."
Booking volumes for all future cruises during the second quarter of 2021 were 45% higher than booking volumes during the first quarter of 2021. Cumulative advanced bookings for full year 2022 are ahead of a very strong 2019 as of May 31, 2021. The company highlights that this level of bookings was achieved with minimal advertising and marketing. (Due to the pause in guest cruise operations, the company's current booking trends will be compared to booking trends for 2019 sailings.)
Total customer deposits as of May 31, 2021 and February 28, 2021 were $2.5 billion and $2.2 billion, respectively. During the quarter, customer deposits on new bookings exceeded the impact of refunds provided.
Liquidity and Refinancing
Carnival Corporation & plc Chief Financial Officer David Bernstein noted, "We ended the second quarter with $9.3 billion of cash and short-term investments. We believe we have sufficient liquidity to get us back to full operations and continue to be focused on pursuing refinancing opportunities to reduce interest rates and extend maturities. To date, through our refinancing efforts, we have reduced our future annual interest expense by over $120 million per year and expect to increase our near-term liquidity by $1.0 billion."
Donald added, "Once we return to full operations, our cash flow will be the primary driver of the company's return to investment grade credit over time, creating greater shareholder value."
In pursuit of the company's refinancing efforts, during the second quarter of 2021:
The company expects these transactions to close during the third quarter of 2021.
As of May 31, 2021, the company's outstanding debt maturities are as follows:
(in billions) | 3Q 2021 | 4Q 2021 | 1Q 2022 | 2Q 2022 | ||||||||||||
Principal payments on outstanding debt (a) | $ | 0.3 | $ | 0.3 | $ | 0.6 | $ | 0.6 | ||||||||
(a) | Excluding the revolving facility. As of May 31, 2021, borrowings under the revolving facility were $3.1 billion. The maturities for these borrowings are currently extended through September 2021. The company may re-borrow such amounts subject to satisfaction of the conditions in the revolving facility agreement. |
The company's monthly average cash burn rate for the first half of 2021 was $500 million, which was better than forecasted primarily due to the timing of proceeds from ship sales and working capital changes. This monthly average cash burn rate includes revenues earned on voyages, ongoing ship operating and administrative expenses, restart spend, working capital changes (excluding changes in customer deposits), interest expense and capital expenditures (net of export credit facilities), and excludes scheduled debt maturities as well as other cash collateral to be provided. As the company continues to resume guest cruise operations, it expects to incur incremental spend relating to bringing ships out of pause status, returning crew members to its ships and implementing enhanced health and safety protocols.
The phased resumption of the company's guest cruise operations continues to have a material impact on all aspects of its business, including the company's liquidity, financial position and results of operations. The company expects a net loss on both a U.S. GAAP and adjusted basis for the third quarter 2021 and full year ending November 30, 2021.
Sustainability Update
Donald noted, "The 2030 sustainability goals and our aspirations for 2050 are an important next step in our journey and advance our ongoing efforts to establish a path to zero emission cruising over time."
Throughout the pause in guest cruise operations, the company maintained focus on its Environmental, Social and Governance ("ESG") performance. As the company continues to work towards the broad restart of guest cruise operations, the company announced its 2030 sustainability goals and 2050 sustainability aspirations focusing strategically and holistically on enhancing its sustainable business model while reinforcing its commitment to and investment in sustainability solutions. The company's goals and aspirations incorporate six critical focus areas which are aligned with key United Nations Sustainable Development Goals:
In each focus area, the company has specified goals, targets and aspirations that guide its strategy to further strengthen the ESG performance of the organization. The company's climate actions align with the International Maritime Organization's commitment to reduce carbon emission intensity 40% by 2030 and aspires to achieve net carbon neutral operations by 2050. The company remains focused on decarbonization by investing in the transition to alternative fuels and technologies, such as biofuels, large scale batteries and fuel cells. The company continues to set near-term goals to ensure its progress is tracking with its longer-term vision. For more detailed information on the company's 2030 goals and 2050 aspirations, see the company press release issued on June 22, 2021.
Other Recent Highlights
Conference Call
The company has scheduled a conference call with analysts at 10:00 a.m. EDT (3:00 p.m. BST) today to discuss its business update. This call can be listened to live, and additional information can be obtained, via Carnival Corporation & plc's website at www.carnivalcorp.com and www.carnivalplc.com.
Carnival Corporation & plc is one of the world's largest leisure travel companies with a portfolio of nine of the world's leading cruise lines. With operations in North America, Australia, Europe and Asia, its portfolio features – Carnival Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, Holland America Line, P&O Cruises (Australia), Seabourn, Costa Cruises, AIDA Cruises, P&O Cruises (UK) and Cunard.
Additional information can be found on www.carnivalcorp.com, www.carnivalsustainability.com, www.carnival.com, www.princess.com, www.hollandamerica.com, www.pocruises.com.au, www.seabourn.com, www.costacruise.com, www.aida.de, www.pocruises.com and www.cunard.com.
Cautionary Note Concerning Factors That May Affect Future Results
Some of the statements, estimates or projections contained in this document are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions with respect to us, including some statements concerning future results, operations, outlooks, plans, goals, reputation, cash flows, liquidity and other events which have not yet occurred. These statements are intended to qualify for the safe harbors from liability provided by Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements other than statements of historical facts are statements that could be deemed forward-looking. These statements are based on current expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections about our business and the industry in which we operate and the beliefs and assumptions of our management. We have tried, whenever possible, to identify these statements by using words like "will," "may," "could," "should," "would," "believe," "depends," "expect," "goal," "anticipate," "forecast," "project," "future," "intend," "plan," "estimate," "target," "indicate," "outlook," and similar expressions of future intent or the negative of such terms.
Forward-looking statements include those statements that relate to our outlook and financial position including, but not limited to, statements regarding:
• | Pricing | • | Estimates of ship depreciable lives and residual values |
• | Booking levels | • | Goodwill, ship and trademark fair values |
• | Occupancy | • | Liquidity and credit ratings |
• | Interest, tax and fuel expenses | • | Adjusted earnings per share |
• | Currency exchange rates | • | Impact of the COVID-19 coronavirus global pandemic on our financial condition and results of operations |
• | Return to guest cruise operations |
Because forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, there are many factors that could cause our actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by our forward-looking statements. This note contains important cautionary statements of the known factors that we consider could materially affect the accuracy of our forward-looking statements and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial position. Additionally, many of these risks and uncertainties are currently amplified by and will continue to be amplified by, or in the future may be amplified by, the COVID-19 outbreak. It is not possible to predict or identify all such risks. There may be additional risks that we consider immaterial or which are unknown. These factors include, but are not limited to, the following:
The ordering of the risk factors set forth above is not intended to reflect our indication of priority or likelihood.
Forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as a prediction of actual results. Subject to any continuing obligations under applicable law or any relevant stock exchange rules, we expressly disclaim any obligation to disseminate, after the date of this document, any updates or revisions to any such forward-looking statements to reflect any change in expectations or events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statements are based.
CARNIVAL CORPORATION & PLC | |||||||||||||||
NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES | |||||||||||||||
Three Months Ended
May 31, |
Six Months Ended
May 31, |
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(in millions) | 2021 | 2020 | 2021 | 2020 | |||||||||||
Net income (loss) | |||||||||||||||
U.S. GAAP net income (loss) | $ | (2,072) | $ | (4,374) | $ | (4,045) | $ | (5,155) | |||||||
(Gains) losses on ship sales and impairments | 36 | 1,953 | 39 | 2,882 | |||||||||||
Restructuring expenses | 3 | 39 | 3 | 39 | |||||||||||
Other | (2) | — | 13 | 3 | |||||||||||
Adjusted net income (loss) | $ | (2,036) | $ | (2,382) | $ | (3,990) | $ | (2,231) |
Explanations of Non-GAAP Financial Measures
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
We use adjusted net income (loss) as a non-GAAP financial measure of our cruise segments' and the company's financial performance. This non-GAAP financial measure is provided along with U.S. GAAP net income (loss).
We believe that gains and losses on ship sales, impairment charges, restructuring costs and other gains and losses are not part of our core operating business and are not an indication of our future earnings performance. Therefore, we believe it is more meaningful for these items to be excluded from our net income (loss), and accordingly, we present adjusted net income (loss) excluding these items.
The presentation of our non-GAAP financial information is not intended to be considered in isolation from, as substitute for, or superior to the financial information prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. It is possible that our non-GAAP financial measures may not be exactly comparable to the like-kind information presented by other companies, which is a potential risk associated with using these measures to compare us to other companies.
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