(Reuters) – Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd beat Wall Street quarterly revenue estimates on Tuesday, as travel demand bounced back following easing of COVID-related protocols even as inflation crimped discretionary spending.
While inflation has eaten into savings of lower-income households, more affluent consumers are rushing back to travel, fueling demand at cruise operators such as Norwegian which have now relaxed pandemic-related restrictions onboard.
Passengers have also been splurging on food, spas and upscale experiences onboard, helping cruise operators cushion some of the hit from higher fuel and labor costs and pushing them toward normalcy after a near 18-month pandemic-induced lull.
The U.S. cruise operator’s third-quarter revenue rose to $1.62 billion from $153.1 million a year earlier when cruise operations were just resuming after the pandemic hit, beating analysts’ average estimate of $1.58 billion, according to Refinitiv IBES data.
The company also forecast total revenue between $1.4 billion and $1.5 billion for the fourth quarter.
Net loss narrowed to $295.4 million, or 70 cents per share, in the reported quarter ended Sept. 30, from $845.9 million, or $2.29 per share, a year earlier.
(Reporting by Deborah Sophia in Bengaluru; Editing by Vinay Dwivedi)
