Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings reports a 2023 profit

28.02.2024 - 16:33 / travelweekly.com / Red Sea / Harry Sommer

Calling 2023 a landmark year for Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, CEO Harry Sommer said the company had its first full-year profit since 2019.

NCLH reported net income of $166.2 million in 2023. In comparison, Royal Caribbean Group's 2023 net income was $1.7 billion, and Carnival Corp. reported a $74 million loss in its fiscal year.

NCLH's results were driven by revenue growth and a continued focus on cost reductions, Sommer told investors during the company's earnings call Tuesday. The push to drive down costs is part of a "cultural shift in the way our entire company looks at costs to ensure we are operating as efficiently as possible while delivering experiences our guests value," said Sommer.

Some of those changes include optimizing fuel consumption and making adjustments to the company's bunkering strategy.

Meanwhile, total revenue per passenger cruise day increased 17% from 2019, Sommer said. NCLH generated $8.5 billion in revenue last year, a 32% increase from 2019.

Occupancy reached 102.9% for the full year, a marked increase from 72.8% in 2022. By comparison, full-year occupancy was 107.3% in 2019.

Like Carnival Corp. and Royal Caribbean Group, NCLH began 2024 at an all-time high for booked position. The group's flagship brand, Norwegian Cruise Line, is seeing what NCLH described as exceptional demand, with 2024 bookings and pricing at higher levels than 2023 for all four quarters, said Sommer.

"When demand is good, we take advantage of it," said Sommer.

Wave season began about two months earlier than usual, he said. The company is entirely booked for Q1 and the other three quarters are in record booked positions, he said, with NCL in an especially strong position.

The group's other brands, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises, are also seeing strong demand across all regions except for the redeployed itineraries due to cancellations in the Middle East and the Red Sea.

Meanwhile, demand has returned in Hawaii following fires that ravaged Maui late last summer. NCL had seen a fall in demand for its Hawaii-only sailings on the Pride of America, the only U.S.-flagged cruise ship that sails exclusively Hawaiian itineraries.