LIND Lindblad Expeditions Holdings Inc

Full Year Highlights:

• Total revenues increased 13% to $644.7 million
• Net loss available to stockholders improved by $14.2 million
• Adjusted EBITDA increased 28% to $91.2 million
• Lindblad segment Net Yield per Available Guest Night increased 7% to $1,170 and Occupancy was 78%

NEW YORK, Feb. 27, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Lindblad Expeditions Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: LIND; the "Company" or "Lindblad"), a global provider of expedition cruises and adventure travel experiences, today reported financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2024.

Natalya Leahy, Chief Executive Officer, commented, "Experiencing our ships firsthand, I was both humbled and inspired by the truly unmatched adventures we offer, from the most agile and immersive expeditions to the warmth and intimacy of the atmosphere onboard. Lindblad Expeditions pioneered and perfected exploration in the world's most awe-inspiring destinations. 2024 was not only a record year, it was also a foundational one for future growth. With a strengthened Disney/National Geographic relationship, expanded capacity in core markets, and the increased scale of our six-brand portfolio, we are entering 2025 with strong tailwinds. This year, we are focused on driving demand, innovating smartly on costs, and unlocking new portfolio opportunities to further expand our reach and impact."

FULL YEAR RESULTS

Tour Revenues

Full year tour revenues of $644.7 million increased $75.2 million, or 13%, as compared to a year ago. The increase was driven by a $25.9 million increase at the Lindblad segment and a $49.3 million increase at the Land Experiences segment.

Lindblad segment tour revenues of $423.3 million increased $25.9 million, or 7%, compared to a year ago. The increase was driven by a 2% increase in available guest nights due to greater fleet utilization, a 7% increase in net yield per available guest night to $1,170 due to higher pricing and higher occupancy of 78% in 2024 as compared to 77% a year ago.

Land Experiences segment tour revenues of $221.4 million increased $49.2 million, or 29%, compared to a year ago primarily due to an increase in guests traveled, higher pricing and the addition of Wineland-Thomson Adventures.

Net Income

Net loss available to stockholders for the full year was $35.8 million, $0.67 per diluted share, as compared with a net loss available to stockholders of $50.0 million, $0.94 per diluted share, in 2023. The $14.2 million improvement primarily reflects higher operating results, lower tax expense, and lower stock-based compensation expense, partially offset by higher depreciation and amortization, transaction-related costs and foreign currency losses.

Adjusted EBITDA

Full year Adjusted EBITDA of $91.2 million increased $20.0 million as compared to 2023 driven by a $10.9 million increase at the Lindblad segment and a $9.1 million increase at the Land Experiences segment.

Lindblad segment Adjusted EBITDA of $59.4 million increased $10.9 million as compared to 2023, primarily due to increased tour revenues, partially offset by increased marketing and higher general and administrative investments to drive long-term growth initiatives, and increased royalties associated with the expanded National Geographic agreement.

Land Experiences segment Adjusted EBITDA of $31.8 million increased $9.1 million as compared to 2023, due to increased tour revenues and the addition of Wineland-Thomson Adventures partially offset by increased operating and personnel costs, higher marketing spend to drive future growth, credit card fees and commission expense.

FOURTH QUARTER RESULTS

Tour Revenues

Fourth quarter tour revenues of $148.6 million increased $23.2 million, or 19%, as compared to the same period in 2023. The increase was driven by a $4.9 million increase at the Lindblad segment and a $18.3 million increase at the Land Experiences segment.

Lindblad segment tour revenues of $90.7 million increased $4.9 million, or 6%, compared to the fourth quarter a year ago. The increase was driven by a 13% increase in net yield per available guest night to $1,150 due to higher pricing and an increase in occupancy to 78% compared to 70% as compared to the fourth quarter a year ago.

Land Experiences tour revenues of $57.9 million increased $39.6 million, or 46%, compared to the fourth quarter a year ago primarily due to an increase in guests traveled, higher pricing and the addition of Wineland-Thomson Adventures.

Net Income

Net loss available to stockholders for the fourth quarter was $26.2 million, $0.48 per diluted share, as compared with net loss available to stockholders of $28.5 million, $0.53 per diluted share, in the fourth quarter of 2023. The $2.3 million improvement primarily reflects higher operating results and lower stock-based compensation expense, partially offset by higher depreciation and amortization and foreign currency losses. 

Adjusted EBITDA

Fourth quarter Adjusted EBITDA of $13.4 million increased $9.6 million as compared to the same period in 2023 driven by a $6.6 million increase at the Lindblad segment and a $3.0 million increase at the Land Experiences segment.

Lindblad segment Adjusted EBITDA of $6.1 million increased $6.6 million as compared to the same period in 2023, primarily due to increased tour revenues, partially offset by increased marketing spend and higher general and administrative investments to drive long-term growth initiatives, and increased royalties associated with the expanded National Geographic agreement.

Land Experiences segment Adjusted EBITDA of $7.3 million increased $3.0 million as compared to the same period in 2023, due to increased tour revenues and the addition of Wineland-Thomson Adventures partially offset by increased operating and personnel costs, higher marketing spend to drive future growth, credit card fees and commission expense.

Balance Sheet and Liquidity

The Company's cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash were $216.1 million as of December 31, 2024, as compared with $187.3 million as of December 31, 2023. The increase primarily reflects $92.4 million in cash from operations due primarily to increased bookings for future travel, which was partially offset by $33.5 used in purchasing property and equipment, as well as, $16.7 million in cash used in the acquisition of additional ownership in Natural Habitat and DuVine.

As of December 31, 2024, the Company had a total debt position of $635.0 million and was in compliance with all of its applicable debt covenants.

Acquisitions

In January 2025, the Company closed on two purpose-built Galápagos expedition vessels to join the National Geographic-Lindblad Expeditions fleet. The first of the two new ships, the National Geographic Gemini, is a 48-guest configuration featuring two unique dining venues and 28 outward-facing cabins, including 13 balcony suites. Even more intimate, the second vessel, the National Geographic Delfina, is a 16-guest, eight-cabin catamaran perfect for family vacations, affinity groups, and private charters. Both ships have gone through revitalizations and will embody the spirit of adventure and extreme comfort, both synonymous with National Geographic-Lindblad Expeditions, and will celebrate the Company's deep connection to the islands, Ecuador, and its people. The National Geographic Delfina embarked on its inaugural voyage in February 2025, with the National Geographic Gemini set to embark on its inaugural voyage in March 2025.

The Company continues to expand its land-based experiential travel offerings and increase the addressable market. On July 31, 2024, the Company completed the acquisition Wineland-Thomson Adventures Inc., an adventure travel group that primarily operates African safaris. The aggregate purchase price was $30 million and was financed through $24.0 million and $6.0 million in Lindblad stock. With the addition of Wineland-Thomson Adventures, Lindblad Expeditions creates a portfolio of six adventure brands targeting the growing adventure travel market with unique, authentic experiences on both land and at sea.

FINANCIAL OUTLOOK 

We continue to be encouraged by the strong demand in the adventure travel market for both the Lindblad and Land Experiences segments. Booking curves are trending ahead of prior year for 2025 and 2026 for both segments.

The Company's current expectations for the full year 2025 are as follows:

• Tour revenues of $700 - $750 million

• Adjusted EBITDA of $100 - $112 million

STOCK REPURCHASE PLAN

The Company currently has a $35.0 million stock repurchase plan in place. As of February 24, 2025, the Company had repurchased 875,218 shares and 6.0 million warrants under the plan for a total of $23.0 million and had $12.0 million remaining under the plan. As of February 24, 2025, there were 54.6 million shares common stock outstanding.

NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES

The Company uses a variety of operational and financial metrics, including non-GAAP financial measures such as Adjusted EBITDA, Occupancy, Net Yields and Net Cruise Costs, to enable it to analyze its performance and financial condition. The Company utilizes these financial measures to manage its business on a day-to-day basis and believes that they are the most relevant measures of performance. Some of these measures are commonly used in the cruise and tourism industry to evaluate performance. The Company believes these non-GAAP measures provide expanded insight to assess revenue and cost performance, in addition to the standard GAAP-based financial measures. There are no specific rules or regulations for determining non-GAAP measures, and as such, they may not be comparable to measures used by other companies within the industry.

The presentation of non-GAAP financial information should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for, or superior to, the financial information prepared and presented in accordance with GAAP. The definitions of non-GAAP financial measures along with a reconciliation of non-GAAP financial information to GAAP are included in the supplemental financial schedules.

Conference Call Information

The Company has scheduled a conference call at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time on February 27, 2025, to discuss the earnings of the Company. The conference call can be accessed by dialing 1-800-715-9871 (United States), 1-646-307-1963 (International).

The Access Code is 2974921. A replay of the call will be available at the Company's investor relations website, investors.expeditions.com.

About Lindblad Expeditions Holdings, Inc.

Lindblad Expeditions Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: LIND; the "Company") is a leader in global expedition travel, offering immersive, ship- and land-based journeys on all seven continents through its six pioneering brands.  Driven by a passion for the planet and the belief that there is always more to be discovered, the Company leads travelers to the farthest reaches of the world with an expansive portfolio of ship- and land-based expeditions. In collaboration with National Geographic, Lindblad Expeditions operates and sells the National Geographic-Lindblad Expeditions co-brand, offering ship-based voyages that allow guests to explore remote destinations alongside scientists, naturalists, photographers and with state-of-the-art exploration tools. In addition to its renowned modern expedition cruises, the Company's award-winning land-based brands—Natural Habitat Adventures, Off the Beaten Path, DuVine Cycling + Adventure Co., Classic Journeys, and Wineland-Thomson Adventures—provide extraordinary wildlife, cultural, and adventure-focused experiences. Together, these brands connect travelers with some of the planet's most inspiring natural and cultural landscapes, fostering a deep appreciation for the world.

To learn more about Lindblad Expeditions Holdings, Inc., its growing portfolio of brands, visit investors.expeditions.com.

Forward Looking Statements

Certain matters discussed in this press release are "forward-looking statements" intended to qualify for the safe harbor from liability established by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include the Company's financial projections and may also generally be identified as such because the context of such statements will include words such as "anticipate," "believe," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "plan," "potential," "predict," "project," "should," "will," "would" or words of similar import. Similarly, statements that describe the Company's financial guidance or future plans, objectives or goals are also forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause results to differ materially from those expected. It is not possible to predict or identify all such risks. There may be additional risks that we consider immaterial or which are unknown. These factors include, but are not limited to, the following: (i) adverse general economic factors, such as fluctuating or increasing levels of interest rates, taxes, inflation, unemployment and perceptions of these and similar conditions that decrease the level of disposable income of consumers or consumer confidence that negatively impact the ability or desire of people to travel; (ii) suspended operations, cancelling or rescheduling of voyages and other potential disruptions to our business and operations related to health pandemics or geopolitical events such as  the Israel-Hamas war and the Russia-Ukraine conflict, political unrest, terrorism, war, the denial and/or unavailability of ports of call, or another unexpected event in destinations we visit; (iii) events and conditions around the world, including war and other military actions, such as civil unrest in Ecuador, the Israel-Hamas war, the current conflict between Russia and Ukraine, inflation, higher fuel prices, higher interest rates and other general concerns about the state of the economy or other events impacting the ability or desire of people to travel; (iv) increases in fuel prices, changes in fuels consumed and availability of fuel supply in the geographies in which we operate or in general; (v) the loss of key employees, our inability to recruit or retain qualified shoreside and shipboard employees and increased labor costs; (vi) the impact of delays or cost overruns with respect to anticipated or unanticipated drydock, maintenance, modifications or other required construction related to any of our vessels; (vii) unscheduled disruptions in our business due to civil unrest, travel restrictions, weather events, mechanical failures, pandemics or other events; (viii) changes adversely affecting the business in which we are engaged; (ix) management of our growth and our ability to execute on our planned growth, including our ability to successfully close merger and acquisition transactions and integrate acquisitions; (x) our business strategy and plans; (xi) our ability to maintain our relationships with National Geographic and/or World Wildlife Fund; (xii) compliance with new and existing laws and regulations, including environmental regulations and travel advisories and restrictions; (xiii) our substantial indebtedness and our ability to remain in compliance with the financial and/or operating covenants in such arrangements; (xiv) the impact of material litigation, enforcement actions, claims, fines or penalties on our business; (xv) the impact of severe or unusual weather conditions, including climate change, on our business; (xvi) adverse publicity regarding the travel and cruise industry in general; (xvii) loss of business due to competition; (xviii) the inability to meet or achieve our sustainability related goals, aspirations, initiatives, and our public statements and disclosures regarding them; (xiv) the result of future financing efforts; (xx) our common stock ranks junior to our Series A Convertible Preferred Stock with respect to dividends and amounts payable in the event of our liquidation, dissolution or winding-up of our affairs; and (xxi) those risks described in the Company's filings with the SEC. Stockholders, potential investors and other readers are urged to consider these factors carefully in evaluating the forward-looking statements and are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements made herein are made only as of the date of this press release, and the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. More detailed information about factors that may affect the Company's performance may be found in its filings with the SEC, which are available at http://www.sec.gov or at http://www.expeditions.com in the Investor Relations section of the Company's website.