Strong close-in bookings pushed Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. to a $230.4 million third-quarter profit, down from the same period in 2008 but the company’s first quarterly profit of 2009.
RCCL made $411.9 million during the same period of 2008, on revenue of $2.1 billion. In third-quarter 2009, revenue fell to $1.8 billion.
RCCL reported a net yield decline of 16.5% compared with 2008, which was partially offset by a 10% decline in cruise costs. Yields were better than RCCL had expected because of the strength of close-in bookings, the company said.
The company expects fourth-quarter net yields to decline approximately 7% to 8%, worse than its previous forecast of declines in the mid-single digits. RCCL projected a 14% decline in net yields for the full year. The news pushed RCCL shares down by almost 5% in early trading.
"Like many other travel companies, we saw more strength than we expected during our peak season but have been experiencing more pricing pressure on some of our traditionally softer fall season sailings," Richard Fain, RCCL's chairman and CEO, said in a statement.
RCCL said booking volume since mid-September was up about 40% compared with the same period last year, with improvement on cruises departing in the fourth quarter and next year.
The company’s newest ships, Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas and Celebrity's Solstice-class vessels, continued to get significant premiums and volumes, said RCCL.
RCCL said fuel costs were in-line with the company's previous calculations, coming in at an average of $460 per metric ton.