Norway's Fred Olsen Cruise Lines is examining how it can resume operations of its fleet to halt losses during the coronavirus crisis.
Bonheur, the Oslo-listed holding company of the Fred Olsen group, said the cruise division made a net loss of NOK 206m ($19.98m) in the first quarter. This compares to a loss of NOK 89m a year ago.
The company was actually enjoying "good" bookings before Covid-19 struck, causing it to idle all its four ships in Scotland from 13 March, it said.
They are in warm layup, which is costing £2.8m ($3.4m) per month together with other overheads. It is working to reduce this figure.
The company will not restart operations until it is safe, Bonheur said.
Cruise revenue in the quarter dipped slightly to NOK 499m from NOK 504m.
Guidance needed from government
"A decision for resuming cruising will be taken in close cooperation and guidance from the relevant authorities, to ensure that all hygiene and health standards can be met and prepared in the best possible way," Bonheur said.
The high degree of uncertainty surrounding the consequences of Covid-19 makes financial planning challenging, it added.
"Fred Olsen Cruise Lines is working on various scenarios for a start-up. In this situation it is important to notice that the company has no external interest-bearing debt," said Bonheur.
Fred Olsen Cruise Lines' prepaid ticket income from customers has been recognised as a liability in the accounts.
Passenger days totalled just over 211,000 for the quarter, down from nearly 247,000 last year.
Regular operating costs decreased in the quarter mainly due to the shorter operational period.
Bonheur as a whole produced net profit of NOK 118m in the first three months, against a loss of NOK 200m in 2019.
The company received a boost from NOK 359m in gains on the sale of shares and bonds, most of which came from its disposal of a 51% stake in renewables business GWP France.
Operating revenues were up at NOK 1.96bn from NOK 1.68bn.
The shipping and offshore wind division logged an Ebitda loss of NOK 29m, better than the NOK 51m deficit recorded a year ago.
Wind farm ships suffered low operating efficiency due to adverse weather conditions, said Bonheur, which also is majority shareholder of TradeWinds parent NHST Media Group.
