by Sarah Kuta
Last updated: 2:25 PM ET, Wed May 29, 2024
Viking has shared financial results from its first quarter as a publicly traded company.
The company went public with the biggest U.S. IPO—$1.8 billion—of the year earlier this month. Its stocks are now trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker “VIK.”
Viking's total first-quarter revenue was $718.2 million, up 14.2 percent year over year. Viking’s adjusted gross margin for Q1 also increased by 19.1 percent compared to last year's period.
“We are pleased with our performance in the first quarter,” says Torstein Hagen, Viking’s chairman and chief executive officer.
As of May 19, the company had sold 91 percent of its availability for the 2024 season and 39 percent for the 2025 season for its core products, which include its river, ocean, expedition and Mississippi voyages. Hagen described these advanced bookings as “encouraging.”
Viking also expects to take delivery of two river ships and one ocean ship before the end of the year.
“At Viking, we remain committed to prioritizing our guests and treating our employees as integral members of our family,” says Hagen. “We embrace a contrarian approach and steadfastly maintain a long-term perspective when managing our business. Leveraging our momentum, we are dedicated to shaping Viking’s next era to deliver value for all of our stakeholders.”
In the first quarter, the company’s capacity passenger cruise days were up 14.5 percent from last year. Occupancy was 94 percent, compared to 92.8 during the first quarter of 2023.
Total revenue also increased $89.2 million year over year to $718.2 million. This increase was largely the result of Viking adding more ships to its fleet and having higher occupancy this year than last year. Vessel operating expenses also went up by 6.8 percent to $281.1 million.
In its update to shareholders, Viking also explained that it operates a seasonal business and that, historically, most of its revenue and profits come during the second and third quarters each year.
“While our ocean, expedition and Mississippi products operate year-round, the primary cruising season for our river product is from April to October, although some of our river cruises run longer seasons,” according to the company. “Additionally, our highest occupancy occurs during the Northern Hemisphere’s summer months.”
The company also shared that S&P upgraded its corporate rating to BB- from B+ this month.
“We are excited to share strong first-quarter financial results, which are a testament to the great demand for our products and brand,” said Leah Talactac, Viking’s chief financial officer. “Also, strengthening our balance sheet continues to be a priority as evidenced by our cash balance and reduction in net leverage. We are also very pleased by the S&P credit rating upgrade. These achievements underscore our dedication to financial prudence and our pursuit of sustainable growth.”
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