(Reuters) -Royal Caribbean Group on Thursday forecast current-quarter loss bigger than estimates, blaming higher fuel costs and a stronger dollar even as it beat expectations for third-quarter profit and revenue.
The company’s shares, down 35.4% this year, fell about 7% in early trading.
Cruise operators including Royal Caribbean, Carnival Corp and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings have been struggling to rebound their pandemic-hit business, pressured by rising interest rates, the dollar’s strength and soaring fuel prices owing to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
Royal Caribbean forecast a fourth-quarter loss of $1.30 to $1.50 per share, compared with estimates for a loss of 67 cents, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.
Still, the company said booking trends for early 2023 remained strong “within historical ranges at record pricing,” despite anticipating some inflationary pressures.
For the third quarter ended Sept. 30, the company’s revenue soared to nearly $3 billion, edging past expectations of $2.97 billion.
On an adjusted basis, the company earned 26 cents per share, compared to analysts’ expectations of 19 cents.
(Reporting by Granth Vanaik in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)
