Royal Caribbean Cruises' chief executive Richard Fain remains optimistic during the cruise sector's darkest days ever, confident that his company will one day recover from the Covid-19 pandemic.
He reminded analysts on Wednesday that the travel industry recovered from the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks in the US and said Royal Caribbean will do the same.
"We don't expect that someday someone blows a horn and all the ships start right away," he said during the cruise giant's first-quarter earnings call.
The New York-listed owner of 62 cruiseships posted a $1.44bn loss for the first quarter versus a $256m profit during the same period last year.
The company, which has further extended its fleet lay-up until the end of July, expects to incur a loss for the second quarter and all of 2020.
The announcement on Wednesday confirmed the preliminary results for the quarter that Royal Caribbean provided a week ago.
Revenue came in at $2.03bn, down from $2.44bn a year earlier, due to the fleet suspension that has been in place since mid-March.
The company has provided refunds on 45% of its bookings, leaving it with $2.4bn in deposits until the end of 2022.
A monthly cash burn of $250bn to $275bn during a no-revenue scenario also played a huge factor in the New York-listed company's massive quarterly loss.
The company's shares fell 3.7% to $40.59 by late morning on Wednesday in New York.
Taking a healthy approach
Royal Caribbean also shared its "healthy" approach to the pandemic, which involves ensuring guest and crew safety, enhancing liquidity, protecting company brands and preparing for a "new normal".
"We understand that when our ships return to service, they will be sailing in a changed world," Fain said.
"How well we anticipate and solve for this new environment will play a critical role in keeping our guests and crew safe and healthy, as well as position our business and that of our travel agent partners to return to growth."
The Miami-based cruise major has raised about $4bn more in financing while lowering 2020 capital expenditures by $3bn.
"We have taken swift and substantial actions to bolster our financial position by significantly reducing our operating and capital spend, and leveraging our strong balance sheet to raise additional capital," chief financial officer Jason Liberty said.
On Tuesday, Royal Caribbean improved its $3.3bn in liquidity by $1bn via a $3.3bn offering of senior secured notes.
The company, which has respective debt maturities of $400m and $900m for 2020 and 2021, has lowered capital spending by $4.4bn over the next two years to $2.6bn.
It said it believes Covid-19 will delay ship deliveries during 2021.
