Carnival Corporation expects to return to profitability by the third quarter of 2022, Arnold Donald, president and CEO, said on Tuesday’s first quarter earnings call.
Donald said he expects to post a loss for the second quarter and also a net loss for the full year of 2022.
Things are expected to turn around significantly in 2023, however, driven by the momentum in demand and higher pricing combined with 8 percent more capacity than in 2019 and an improved fleet profile.
The forecast is for 14 million passengers for 2023 and potentially a better EBITDA than in 2019.
Meanwhile, 2022 is impacted by restart expenses and record drydock days to bring ships back into service, along with the added costs of health and safety protocols, and inflation. Earlier this year the omicron variant also had a negative effect on bookings with passengers testing negative or unable to get timely tests before their cruise.
The war in Ukraine is also having an effect with approximately 4 percent of the fleet having cancelled calls in Saint Petersburg, which also have had some impact on bookings.
According to David Bernstein, CFO and senior vice president, going forward the company is seeing good booking volume and pricing, with volume for the second half of the year on track to exceed the 2019 level.
