ROYAL CARIBBEAN CRUISES LTD Quarterly Report for Q1 Ended Mar 31, 2013

Summary

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (RCL) reported solid first-quarter 2013 results, demonstrating a 4.2% increase in total revenues to $1.9 billion, driven by higher onboard spending, ticket prices, and a slight increase in capacity. Net income rose significantly to $76.2 million, or $0.35 per diluted share, compared to $47.0 million, or $0.21 per diluted share, in the prior year quarter. This performance indicates a strong recovery and effective cost management, with Net Yields improving by 2.7%. The company also provided an optimistic outlook for the full year 2013, projecting EPS between $2.30 and $2.50 and expecting Net Yields to grow between 2% and 4%.

Key Highlights

• 1Total revenues increased by 4.2% to $1.91 billion in Q1 2013 compared to $1.83 billion in Q1 2012, driven by higher passenger ticket and onboard revenues.
• 2Net income saw a substantial increase of 62.3% to $76.2 million ($0.35/share diluted) from $46.9 million ($0.21/share diluted) in the prior year period.
• 3Net Yields improved by 2.7% to $174.04 in Q1 2013, reflecting stronger pricing power and increased passenger spending.
• 4Cruise operating expenses increased by 2.2% to $1.28 billion, largely due to increased capacity and higher fuel costs, but were managed effectively relative to revenue growth.
• 5The company advanced its newbuild program, with the conditional agreement for the third Oasis-class ship becoming effective, and provided a positive full-year earnings per share outlook of $2.30 to $2.50.
• 6Liquidity remains strong with $215.9 million in cash and $2.0 billion available under credit facilities as of March 31, 2013.
• 7A class-action lawsuit concerning alleged misstatements about the company's outlook was dismissed with prejudice by a district judge on April 18, 2013, removing a potential overhang.

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