Royal Caribbean's Miss Isn't a Surprise
The last two years haven't been much of a bon voyage for Royal Caribbean (NYSE: RCL), and the near-term outlook remains problematic. The cruise ship operator is announcing disappointing financial results for the fourth quarter, falling short of Wall Street forecasts and kicking the can on its timeline for a return to profitability.
"While the timing of Omicron was particularly unfortunate for the first half of 2022 bookings and will likely delay our return to profitability by a few months, we do not expect it to impact our overall recovery trajectory and the strong demand for cruising," CEO Jason Liberty said in Friday morning's earnings release.
The latest global surge in COVID-19 cases has naturally weighed on the travel industry, with cruise lines again taking the biggest hit. It's been a long way back for cruising since the initial shutdown 23 months ago. Royal Caribbean now expects an end to the red ink by the second half of this year, and while that is technically "a few months" since its last forecast, Royal Caribbean and the other leading publicly traded cruise lines haven't been profitable since 2019. Falling short of Wall Street targets and a delay in the return to profitability shouldn't really come as a surprise to investors.
Source Fool.com
