Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings will report first quarter earnings on Thursday May 14 (2020) and host a teleconference call with bank analysts at 10 a.m. eastern, becoming the first major cruise company to host an earnings call during the COVID-19 pandemic.

It sets the stage for what could be among the most important earnings calls in the history of the cruise business.

Call Preview + What to Expect:

• Company executives will provide a business update before turning it over to Wall Street analysts for a question and answer discussion.
• COVID-19 protocols: Expect questions from analysts on what the cruise environment will look like when operations resume. What health protocols may be in place? How will passengers and crew be screened?
• Occupancy: Load factors help drive the bottom line for cruise companies. Will the ships still be 100 percent full with new health protocols?
• Onboard revenue: Norwegian has posted the best onboard revenue year-after-year. Now there could be concerns with occupancy potentially below 100 percent, the idea of limited seats on shore excursion busses due to social distancing, and bundling onboard revenue items to drive ticket prices.
• Deployment: With limited air capacity, could the industry see a shift to more close-to-home sailings for the back half of 2020 and 2021?
• Bookings commentary: Bookings are said to be in range for 2021, with analysts hoping for more details on new bookings versus deferred bookings from cancelled cruises, plus commentary among trends between Norwegian’s three brands.
• Pricing: Norwegian’s namesake brand is selling cruises starting at $199 while Oceania has sailings going for as low as $999.
• Tempers flared on Norwegian’s fourth quarter and year-end earnings call between executives and analysts on the coronavirus pandemic in February.
• Flush with cash: Norwegian raised considerable funding last week, giving it the ability to survive a no-revenue situation for the next 18 months.

How to Listen: Webcast link.