Royal Caribbean Business Update call preview: what matters – cruise industry news

The Royal Caribbean Group has scheduled an investor update call, as well as a report on fourth quarter 2020 and full year 2020 results, on Monday, February 22.

It’s a key call for the investment community, with the company approaching the one-year mark with no ships in service from U.S. ports, and only a small percentage of its fleet in operation, with the Quantum of the Seas sailing in. departure from Singapore while TUI Cruises and Hapag-Lloyd Cruises saw smaller restarts.

Company executives are expected to give a 15 to 25 minute presentation and then open it to questions from financial analysts.

What to listen to:

• Restart: When will ships actually begin to sail en masse in the United States and Europe? Company executives will be in a hurry to respond or provide a realistic timeline. Previous remarks on the restart in 2020 were unsuccessful.
• CDC: Will company executives provide an update regarding ongoing discussions with the CDC and its conditional navigation order? Since its publication in late October, there have been no further public updates or promises of technical regulations.
• Administration of Biden: After the industry had high-level meetings with Vice President Mike Pence in 2020, as well as a teleconference in October, what has been the relationship with the new US administration so far with President Joe Biden in function?
• Azamara: Company executives will have to comment on the sale of Azamara to a private equity firm. Will other ship or brand sales follow?
• Alaska: How will the cruise ship ban in Canada affect the Alaska season and is the idea of ​​a waiver to operate without calling a foreign port realistic?
• Occupation: When the ships restart, what level of occupation will they be sailing at and what occupation must they be sailing to generate positive income?
• Deployment: Could 2021 and maybe 2022 result in a seismic shift in deployment, with cruise lines staying even closer to home and adopting short cruises?
• Burn money: Royal Caribbean Group chose not to provide an exact cash consumption figure in its latest earnings release, but came up with a range that averaged $ 270 million per month. Investors will be looking for an update.
• Start-up costs: Some of the main concerns for Wall Streets include start-up costs per vessel as well as the timeline for preparing a vessel to sail with guests.
• Lay Up: Will the company develop other cold commissioning scenarios for ships that may return to service last?