NCLH Q3 2024 Earnings

Call Details

• Call Title: Norwegian Cruise Line Q3 2024 Earnings Call
• Date: October 31, 2024 at 1:00 PM UTC
• Management Team:
  • Sarah Inman (Head of Investor Relations)
  • Harry Sommer (President and Chief Executive Officer)
  • Mark Kempa (Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer)

Call Summary

Financial Performance

• Adjusted EPS for Q3 2024 was $0.99, up 31% year over year and above guidance of $0.92.
• Third quarter adjusted EBITDA was $931 million, which was above prior guidance of $870 million and up approximately 24% year over year.
• Net yield increased 9% in Q3 2024 relative to Q3 2023, which exceeded the prior guidance by 260 basis points for the quarter.
• Trailing 12-month adjusted operational EBITDA margin improved approximately 900 basis points to 34.5% in Q3 2024.
• Net leverage ended the quarter at 5.58 times, representing about a 1.75 turn reduction from 2023 year-end levels.
• Advanced ticket sales increased 6% year over year for the quarter, outpacing capacity growth.

Guidance

• Full-year 2024 net yield guidance was increased to grow 9.4%, which is a 120 basis point raise from prior guidance and described as a company record since 2013.
• Full-year adjusted EBITDA guidance was increased to approximately $2.425 billion from prior guidance, representing a $225 million increase since initial guidance.
• Full-year adjusted EPS guidance was increased to approximately $1.65, which management stated is a 136% increase over 2023.
• Fourth quarter 2024 net yield is expected to grow 6.9% and fourth quarter adjusted EBITDA guidance was increased to approximately $445 million.
• Fourth quarter adjusted EPS is expected to be approximately $0.09, with an implied share count of 445 million used in the calculation.
• Adjusted net cruise cost ex-fuel per capacity day for the fourth quarter is expected to increase 2.7% to 155 from 151 year over year, with unit costs ex-fuel excluding $6 of dry dock impact expected to be down approximately 1% year over year.