Royal Caribbean cruises to three-year high on record revenue, strong outlook

By Granth Vanaik and Doyinsola Oladipo

(Reuters) – Cruise giant Royal Caribbean (NYSE:) raised its full-year profit forecast on Thursday after posting a record for quarterly revenue, sending its shares to a three-year high on Thursday.

Royal Caribbean and rivals have benefited from pent-up demand as travelers flock to cruises that are seen as a good value when compared to land-based vacations. That has allowed the companies to raise prices as well, boosting margins.

“Our brands continue to excel, and we not only delivered another outstanding quarter that significantly exceeded expectations, but are also increasing our full-year earnings guidance by another 33%,” CEO Jason Liberty said on a post-earnings call.

“Percent of guests that were either new to brand or new to cruise surpassed 2019 levels by a wide margin,” he added.

Royal Caribbean expects an annual adjusted profit between $6.00 and $6.20 per share, compared with its earlier forecast of $4.40 to $4.80.

“Booking (NASDAQ:) commentary was very bullish and appears to affirm continued acceleration in bookings and pricing even into recent months,” said Barclays (LON:) analyst Brandt Montour.

Royal Caribbean’s shares rose 8.2% to $109.22 in morning trading, on track for their highest closing since February 2020, just as the pandemic hit worldwide, if the gains hold.

The cruise operator’s second-quarter revenue of $3.5 billion exceeded estimates of $3.4 billion while adjusted earnings of $1.82 per share also topped expectations of $1.55.

The world’s second-largest cruise line operator has been bumping up ticket prices, especially in North America and Europe, over the past year to protect margins from higher costs linked to fuel, labor and food.

Passenger ticket and onboard revenue rose 72% and 41% year-over-year, respectively.

Occupancy during the quarter ended June 30 was 105%, up from 82% a year earlier, the company said.

Royal Caribbean forecast third-quarter adjusted profit between $3.38 and $3.48 per share, compared with estimates of $2.89.

The upbeat expectation is in contrast to peer Carnival (NYSE:) that in June forecast third-quarter profit below estimates as rising marketing and labor costs offset gains from stronger demand.

Shares of Carnival gained about 5.1% while Norwegian Cruise Line (NYSE:) climbed 6.5% following Royal Caribbean’s results.