CUK Q4 2021 Earnings

Call Details

• Call Title: Carnival Cruise Lines Q4 2021 Earnings Call
• Date: December 20, 2021 at 3:00 PM UTC
• Management Team:
  • Arnold Donald (President and CEO of Cornwall Corporation and CLC)
  • Nikki Aronson (Chairman)
  • David Vernon (Chief Financial Officer)
  • Beth Roberts (Senior Vice President, Investor Relations)

Call Summary

Financial Performance

• Company ended the year with $9.4B of liquidity, essentially flat versus prior year-end levels.
• Cash from operations turned positive in November 2021, earlier than prior indications, driven by higher customer deposits and working capital changes.
• Fourth quarter cash burn was $1.5B, which equated to a monthly average cash burn of $510M during the quarter.
• The company carried over 850,000 guests in the fourth quarter, representing 2.5x the third quarter guest count.
• Revenue per passenger cruise day (PCD) for Q4 2021 was up 4% compared to Q4 2019 on a total cruise revenue yield basis.
• Depreciation and amortization is projected at $2.4B for fiscal 2022 and net interest expense is projected at approximately $1.5B for fiscal 2022.

Guidance

• Company expects both monthly cash flow from operations and monthly EBITDA to consistently turn positive during Q2 fiscal 2022.
• The company expects a net loss for the first half of 2022 and expects to generate a profit in the second half of 2022.
• Fuel consumption for fiscal 2022 is projected at approximately 2.9M metric tons with a current blended spot price of $563 per metric ton.
• Available lower berth days (ALBDs) for fiscal 2022 are projected to be approximately $78M, with quarter splits of $14.1M, $17.8M, $23.0M, and $23.1M.
• Most restart-related elevated costs and pause-related expenses are expected to end in 2022 and not reoccur in fiscal 2023.
• Company believes it has the potential to generate higher EBITDA in 2023 versus 2019 given modest capacity growth and improved cost structure.