Leah Talactac, president and chief financial officer at Viking, said that when it comes to merger and acquisition opportunities (M&A), the company’s return on invested capital is a benchmark that it wants to improve and that Viking is ready for an acquisition if the right opportunity presents itself.

During the company’s second-quarter earnings call, Talactac said: “Our growth engine is ocean, and our strategy is to maintain our dominance in the river, so that strong cash balance gives us the opportunity to continue to contract these vessels further out, with options going out to 2032 and 2033.”

She pointed out that in the past, Viking has spoken about its guiding principles: It must be scalable, it is margin accretive and it’s complementary to the brand.

“India is an example of that, where it is definitely complementary to the brand. Our guests have demonstrated that when we come to market with a new product, they are willing to book, in this case, two to three years out,” she added.

“We believe that making sure that these three guiding principles are met is what drives our decisions in terms of acquisition and further expansion.”

She added that the company is remaining watchful as there are plenty of opportunities and companies that come up for sale every once in a while.

“We do assess them, but at the end of the day, we want to make sure that these three principles are met,” she reiterated.

Torstein Hagen, chairman and chief executive officer of Viking, added: “We think about what we’re doing for the shareholders, not what we’re doing for the management egos. If an acquisition should take place, it has to be a good deal, and it has to fit those principles. So I wouldn’t have too much fear.”