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(Alliance News) - Carnival PLC on Tuesday said it sunk to a deep annual loss, with revenue down by almost three-quarters during a year when cruise ships across the globe were moored due to travel restrictions imposed to curb the spread of Covid-19.
Revenue in the year ended November 30 was down 73% to USD5.60 billion from USD20.83 billion.
Carnival swung to a USD10.25 billion pretax loss from a USD3.06 billion profit.
Earlier in January, Carnival said its US GAAP net loss for the three months ended November 30 was USD2.22 billion, a swing from the cruise ship operator's USD323 million net income figure the prior year.
Carnival earlier in January noted that its cash burn rate for the quarter was USD500 million, a little better than expected thanks to the timing of capital expenditures.
For the first quarter of its 2021 financial year, Carnival at the time said it is expecting the monthly average cash burn rate to be around USD600 million, a figure that includes ongoing ship operating and administrative expenses as well ad interest expenses, working capital changes, and capital expenditures. It excludes scheduled debt maturities plus other cash collateral.
The company said on Tuesday: "In the face of the global impact of Covid-19, we paused our guest cruise operations in mid-March 2020. In September 2020 we began the resumption of limited guest operations as part of our phased-in return to service. As of January 14, 2021, none of our ships were operating with guests onboard.
"Significant events affecting travel, including Covid-19 and our pause in guest cruise operations, have had an impact on booking patterns. The full extent of the impact will be determined by our gradual return to service and the length of time Covid-19 influences travel decisions. We believe that the ongoing effects of Covid-19 on our operations and global bookings have had, and will continue to have, a material negative impact on our financial results and liquidity."
Carnival shares closed 0.5% lower at 1,179.50 pence each in London on Tuesday. In New York, the stock was down 2.0% at USD18.84.
By Eric Cunha; ericcunha@alliancenews.com
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