by Tim Wood
Last updated: 12:04 PM ET, Thu May 7, 2015
PHOTO: The Norwegian Epic.
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings reported their first quarter earnings Thursday morning and the numbers are positive after the company made a major move to end 2014.
The company reported a $21.5 million loss, a number largely fueled by their acquisition of Prestige Cruise Holdings.
The majority of the key numbers were very positive for Norwegian. The company reported revenues of $938.2 million for the quarter, up from $664 million in first quarter 2014 prior to the merger with the parent of Regent Seven Seas Cruises and Oceania Cruises.
This is the first full quarter of reporting following the November acquisition.
"I am pleased to report strong earnings out of the gate for our first full quarter of operations following the combination of Norwegian and Prestige late last year," said Norwegian president and CEO Frank Del Rio. "These results are even more impressive as they come against strong comparables in the prior year, particularly for the Norwegian brand, and headwinds from foreign currency exchange rates."
The $3 billion purchase of Prestige has led to a number of merger-related expenses. When excluding those expenses, Del Rio and company reported an adjusted net income of $62.6 million for first quarter 2015, up 26.4 percent from $49.5 million in first quarter 2014.
The company also reported a stronger-than-expected adjusted earnings per share of $0.27 (estimates were for a more modest 20- to 24-cent earnings per share range). That's a 17.4 percent gain year-over-year. The company now expects a full-year adjusted earnings per share in the range of $2.75 to $2.90.
Norwegian also said it expects a higher-than-expected $75 million in total merger-related cost and revenue synergies for 2015. It expects to reinvest $20 million of that money back into their three brands. The company said the synergies will rise to $115 million in 2016.
Wall Street has reacted positively to the Norwegian news so far Thursday, with stock up $1.43 (2.94 percent) to $50.13 as of 11 a.m. EST.
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