Royal Caribbean Group
‘s earnings comfortably beat Wall Street expectations, while management raised its forecast for annual profit, saying demand for cruises and spending onboard is still strong.
The stock was 2.7% up Thursday, after falling earlier in the day. As of Wednesday’s close, the shares had fallen 25% since their July peak, in tandem with most of the travel sector, because the summer peak in demand has passed, while fuel prices have climbed.
Unlike many other travel companies, and airlines in particular,
Royal Caribbean
(ticker: RCL) provided plenty of reasons for investors to be positive about the months ahead.
The cruise operator’s fuel costs for the third quarter were lower than expected, coming in at $272 million. The consensus call among analysts tracked by FactSet was for $282 million, while management had told investors to expect $275 million.
“The much stressed about (by investors) fuel expense line item actually came in slightly better than expected,” Truist analyst Patrick Scholes said in a note Thursday. “It was a third consecutive very strong quarter vs. expectations.”
The cruise industry’s post-Covid recovery came later than in other parts of the travel sectors because countries opened their borders to visitors from overseas after they allowed domestic trips to resume. As a result, demand for international travel in general, and cruises in particular, is still strong.
The company reported adjusted earnings of $3.85 per share from revenue of $4.2 billion. Analysts were expecting EPS of $3.46 from revenue of $4.1 billion. The company said stronger demand from people booking at short notice, plus strength in spending onboard, helped it to earn more than it had expected.
For the full year, the cruise operator now expects earnings per share of between $6.58 and $6.63, up from a range of $6 to $6.20. Wall Street is expecting $6.12 per share.
“Looking ahead, we see accelerating demand as we build the business for 2024. Our booked load factors are higher than all prior years and at higher rates,” CEO Jason Liberty said in a statement.
The stock has, perhaps unjustly, been swept along in the broader travel- sector selling in recent months. The surprisingly strong profit and the higher financial guidance could trigger a rebound.
Write to Callum Keown at callum.keown@barrons.com
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