Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NYSE: NCLH) (together with NCL
Corporation Ltd., “Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings”, “Norwegian”,
“NCLH” or the “Company”) today unveiled the most comprehensive new
build order in its history—a total of eight state-of-the-art
vessels, representing nearly 25,000 additional berths, with new
classes of ships for each of its three award-winning brands—and the
construction of a multi-ship pier at Great Stirrup Cay, the
Company’s private island destination in the Bahamas and its
top-rated Caribbean port of call. This unprecedented decade-long
strategy enhances its product offering, guest experiences, and
operational infrastructure, supporting the Company’s sustained
leadership in delivering innovative cruise vacations.
The new ship orders across all three brands are scheduled for
delivery over a ten-year period, between 2026 and 2036. Following
the delivery of four Prima-Plus class ships from 2025 through 2028,
Norwegian Cruise Line is expected to take delivery
of four approximately 200,000-gross-ton ships, each with a capacity
of nearly 5,000 guests, in 2030, 2032, 2034 and 2036, which are
subject to financing1. Building on the success of its Allura Class
ships, the last one being delivered in 2025, Oceania
Cruises is scheduled to take delivery of two
86,000-gross-ton ships, each with a capacity of 1,450 guests in
2027 and 2029. Lastly, following the award-winning Explorer Class
ships, Regent Seven Seas Cruises is scheduled to
take delivery of two 77,000-gross-ton ships, each with a capacity
of 850 guests, in 2026 and 2029. Details regarding the ships’
amenities, staterooms, dining, recreational, efficiency,
sustainability and other features will be announced in the coming
months.
"This strategic new-ship order across all three of our
award-winning brands provides for the steady introduction of
cutting-edge vessels into our fleet and solidifies our long-term
growth. It also allows us to significantly leverage our operating
scale, strengthen our commitment to innovation and enhance our
ability to offer our guests new products and experiences, all while
providing opportunities to enhance the efficiency of our fleet,”
said Harry Sommer, president and chief executive officer of
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. “We are likewise excited with
the addition of a new pier at Great Stirrup Cay to support our
increased capacity in the Caribbean and multiple ships to call on
the island, enhancing our guest experience and bringing seamless
and reliable access to our private island year-round.”
In partnership with the Italian shipbuilder
Fincantieri, each brand will design their new ship
class and focus on creating the largest, most efficient, and
innovative vessels of their respective fleet. Aligning with the
Company’s sustainability efforts, the new ship designs are expected
to advance the journey towards decarbonization.
"Over the years, our long-standing relationship with Norwegian
Cruise Line Holdings has been rooted in a shared vision for the
future of maritime travel, consistently setting new standards for
innovation, luxury, sustainability, and guest satisfaction in the
cruise industry,” said Pierroberto Folgiero, CEO and Managing
Director at Fincantieri. “We are thrilled to work
on these new build orders and deliver emblematic cruise ships that
will embody our shared legacy of excellence for generations to
come.”
The Company has obtained export credit financing with favorable
terms to fund 80 percent of the contract price of each of the two
Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises ships, subject to
certain conditions. The ship orders for Norwegian Cruise Line
remain subject to financing, currently underway.
Mark A. Kempa, chief financial officer of Norwegian Cruise Line
Holdings, commented, “we expect that these strategic investments
will secure our growth trajectory, significantly boost our earnings
profile, and enhance shareholder value well into the future. With a
favorable payment structure that includes pre-delivery financing
and modest initial installment payments for these ship orders, we
still anticipate strong Net Leverage reduction of 1.5 turns by the
end of 2024, relative to 2023, and expect the Company to continue
reducing Net Leverage each year for the foreseeable future.”
_______________1 Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. expects a
four-ship Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) order to replace a separate,
effective, two-ship order for Oceania Cruises initially placed to
secure availability with the shipyard. The four-ship order for NCL
is still being finalized and is subject to financing. Delivery for
the second Oceania Cruises ship is contractually scheduled for the
fourth quarter of 2028, but may be delayed to 2029. All expected
delivery dates are preliminary and subject to change.
New Pier Development at Great Stirrup Cay
The new pier development at the Company’s private island in the
Bahamas, Great Stirrup Cay, is slated to break ground in summer
2024 and be completed by late 2025 with an investment of
approximately $150 million. The new pier will be constructed to
simultaneously accommodate two large vessels of the Company’s
current and future ship classes. The pier development will enhance
the guest experience on Great Stirrup Cay, and along with Harvest
Caye, the Company’s private island in Belize, continue to provide
guests with world-class destinations in the Eastern and Western
Caribbean.
Conference Call
The Company has scheduled a conference call for Tuesday, April
9, 2024, at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time to discuss this announcement. A
link to the live webcast along with a slide presentation can be
found on the Company’s Investor Relations website at
https://www.nclhltd.com/investors. A replay of the conference call
will also be available on the website for 30 days after the
call.
About Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd.
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NYSE: NCLH) is a leading
global cruise company which operates Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania
Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises. With a combined fleet of 32
ships and approximately 66,500 berths, NCLH offers itineraries to
approximately 700 destinations worldwide. NCLH expects to add 13
additional ships across its three brands through 2036, which will
add approximately 41,000 berths to its fleet. To learn more, visit
www.nclhltd.com.
Terminology
Adjusted EBITDA. EBITDA adjusted for other
income (expense), net and other supplemental adjustments.
EBITDA. Earnings before interest, taxes, and
depreciation and amortization.
Net Debt. Long-term debt, including current
portion, less cash and cash equivalents.
Net Leverage. Net Debt divided by Adjusted
EBITDA.2
Cautionary Statement Concerning
Forward-Looking Statements
Some of the statements, estimates or projections contained in
this release are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of
the U.S. federal securities laws intended to qualify for the safe
harbor from liability established by the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than statements
of historical facts contained, or incorporated by reference, in
this release, including, without limitation, those regarding our
business strategy, financial position, results of operations,
plans, prospects, actions taken or strategies being considered with
respect to our liquidity position, valuation and appraisals of our
assets and objectives of management for future operations
(including those regarding expected fleet additions, our
expectations regarding the impact of macroeconomic conditions and
recent global events, our expectations regarding cruise voyage
occupancy, operational position, demand for voyages, plans or goals
for our sustainability program and decarbonization efforts, our
expectations for future cash flows and profitability, financing
opportunities and extensions, and efforts to reduce operating
expenses and capital expenditures) are forward-looking statements.
Many, but not all, of these statements can be found by looking for
words like “expect,” “anticipate,” “goal,” “project,” “plan,”
“believe,” “seek,” “will,” “may,” “forecast,” “estimate,” “intend,”
“future” and similar words. Forward-looking statements do not
guarantee future performance and may involve risks, uncertainties
and other factors which could cause our actual results, performance
or achievements to differ materially from the future results,
performance or achievements expressed or implied in those
forward-looking statements. Examples of these risks, uncertainties
and other factors include, but are not limited to the impact of:
adverse general economic factors, such as fluctuating or increasing
levels of interest rates, inflation, unemployment, underemployment
and the volatility of fuel prices, declines in the securities and
real estate markets, and perceptions of these conditions that
decrease the level of disposable income of consumers or consumer
confidence; implementing precautions in coordination with
regulators and global public health authorities to protect the
health, safety and security of guests, crew and the communities we
visit and to comply with related regulatory restrictions; our
indebtedness and restrictions in the agreements governing our
indebtedness that require us to maintain minimum levels of
liquidity and be in compliance with maintenance covenants and
otherwise limit our flexibility in operating our business,
including the significant portion of assets that are collateral
under these agreements; our ability to work with lenders and others
or otherwise pursue options to defer, renegotiate, refinance or
restructure our existing debt profile, near-term debt amortization,
newbuild related payments and other obligations and to work with
credit card processors to satisfy current or potential future
demands for collateral on cash advanced from customers relating to
future cruises; our need for additional financing or financing to
optimize our balance sheet, which may not be available on favorable
terms, or at all, and our outstanding exchangeable notes and any
future financing which may be dilutive to existing shareholders;
the unavailability of ports of call; future increases in the price
of, or major changes, disruptions or reduction in, commercial
airline services; changes involving the tax and environmental
regulatory regimes in which we operate, including new regulations
aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions; the accuracy of any
appraisals of our assets; our success in controlling operating
expenses and capital expenditures; trends in, or changes to, future
bookings and our ability to take future reservations and receive
deposits related thereto; adverse events impacting the security of
travel, or customer perceptions of the security of travel, such as
terrorist acts, armed conflict, such as Russia’s invasion of
Ukraine or the Israel-Hamas war, or threats thereof, acts of
piracy, and other international events; public health crises,
including the COVID-19 pandemic, and their effect on the ability or
desire of people to travel (including on cruises); adverse
incidents involving cruise ships; our ability to maintain and
strengthen our brand; breaches in data security or other
disturbances to our information technology systems and other
networks or our actual or perceived failure to comply with
requirements regarding data privacy and protection; changes in fuel
prices and the type of fuel we are permitted to use and/or other
cruise operating costs; mechanical malfunctions and repairs, delays
in our shipbuilding program, maintenance and refurbishments and the
consolidation of qualified shipyard facilities; the risks and
increased costs associated with operating internationally; our
inability to recruit or retain qualified personnel or the loss of
key personnel or employee relations issues; impacts related to
climate change and our ability to achieve our climate-related or
other sustainability goals; our inability to obtain adequate
insurance coverage; pending or threatened litigation,
investigations and enforcement actions; volatility and disruptions
in the global credit and financial markets, which may adversely
affect our ability to borrow and could increase our counterparty
credit risks, including those under our credit facilities,
derivatives, contingent obligations, insurance contracts and new
ship progress payment guarantees; any further impairment of our
trademarks, trade names or goodwill; our reliance on third parties
to provide hotel management services for certain ships and certain
other services; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates;
our expansion into new markets and investments in new markets and
land-based destination projects; overcapacity in key markets or
globally; and other factors set forth under “Risk Factors” in our
most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The above
examples are not exhaustive and new risks emerge from time to time.
There may be additional risks that we consider immaterial or which
are unknown. Such forward-looking statements are based on our
current beliefs, assumptions, expectations, estimates and
projections regarding our present and future business strategies
and the environment in which we expect to operate in the future.
These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date made. We
expressly disclaim any obligation or undertaking to release
publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statement
to reflect any change in our expectations with regard thereto or
any change of events, conditions or circumstances on which any such
statement was based, except as required by law.
_______________2 The Company does not provide certain estimated
future results on a GAAP basis because the Company is unable to
predict, with reasonable certainty, the future movement of foreign
exchange rates or the future impact of certain gains and charges.
These items are uncertain and will depend on several factors,
including industry conditions, and could be material to the
Company’s results computed in accordance with GAAP. The Company has
not provided reconciliations between the Company’s 2024 guidance
and the most directly comparable GAAP measure because it would be
too difficult to prepare a reliable U.S. GAAP quantitative
reconciliation without unreasonable effort.
Investor Relations & Media Contact
Sarah Inmon(786)
812-3233InvestorRelations@nclcorp.comNCLHmedia@nclcorp.com
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