Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. presented an upbeat outlook for
2019, saying that bookings are up in volume and price.
"We continue to see strong booking trends for 2019,"
CFO Jason Liberty said during the cruise company's third-quarter earnings call
Wednesday. "While each of our larger product groups is in a better booked
position, we're particularly pleased with how the Caribbean is shaping up as it
is a region that will absorb the most capacity for our company next year.
"These insights certainly point to another year of robust
yield and net income growth."
RCCL doesn't issue numerical earnings guidance for next year
until the fourth-quarter results are posted.
In the third quarter, RCCL said net income rose 7.6% to
$810.3 million. Revenue rose 7.7% to $2.8 billion.
Liberty said that stronger close-in demand, higher onboard
revenue and improved results from joint venture partners such as TUI Cruises
were the main drivers of higher earnings.
RCCL expects 2018 net income to be in the range of $1.83
billion to $1.85 billion, when adjusted for special items such as gains on fuel
and currency hedges. In 2017, net income was $1.63 billion.