Royal Caribbean Group continues to see quarterly losses in the billions of dollars as a result of a pandemic that shut down the entire cruise sector since March of last year.
The Richard Fain-led cruise major on Friday posted an adjusted first-quarter loss of $1.1bn, dwarfing an adjusted loss of $310m in the same period of 2019. However, the bottom-line loss of $1.1bn was slimmer than the $1.4bn of red ink a year earlier.
Adjusted loss per share came in at $4.44 per share, missing analyst consensus of $4.39 loss per share and greatly exceeding a $1.48 loss per share suffered a year earlier.
Chief executive Fain is, nonetheless, optimistic about resuming cruising perhaps as early as mid-July, after the release of new guidelines from Washington.
"We have had very constructive dialogues with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] in recent weeks about resuming cruising in the US in a safe and healthy manner," he said in a statement.
"Last night, the CDC notified us of some clarifications and amplifications of their conditional sail order which addressed uncertainties and concerns we had raised."
He said the agency has dealt with the cruise industry in a constructive manner, taking in to account advances in vaccines and medical science about Covid-19.
"Although this is only part of a very complex process, it encourages us that we now see a pathway to a healthy and achievable return to service, hopefully in time for an Alaskan season," he said.
Royal Caribbean has pulled up anchor on some ships outside the US for limited overseas itineraries.
The New York-listed cruise owner's average monthly cash burn rate for the first quarter was about $300m, offset by securing about $12.3bn in liquidity through bond issuances, common stock offerings and other loan facilities.
Those fundraisers include a $1.5bn equity offering at $91 per share and issuing $1.5bn of 5.5% senior unsecured notes due in 2028.
Royal Caribbean also extended maturities on loans totalling $2.55bn by 18 months and made agreements to waive financial covenants on much of its debt through at least the third quarter of 2022.
"We are prepared and eager for the flywheel to start turning again," chief financial officer Jason Liberty said in a statement.
"Moreover, we are optimistic that with the gradual resumption of cruise operations, our cash flow from operations will sequentially improve, driven by an increase in the inflow of customer deposits.
"We feel optimistic about our future and are thrilled to see more and more guests around the globe enjoying incredible vacations on board our ships."
About 75% of bookings made for 2021 are new and 25% are due to be redeeming future cruise credits, Royal Caribbean said.
As of 31 March, the company had about $1.8bn in customer deposits, about 45% of which are related to the future cruise credits.
The Miami company's balance sheet showed $5.09bn in cash at the end of the quarter, with $20.9bn in total debt.
