Carnival shares sank on Friday after the cruise operator said it expects to make a loss in the fourth quarter.
The company said it expects a net loss and breakeven to slightly negative adjusted EBITDA for the fourth quarter ending November 30.
In its results for the third quarter, Carnival said net losses narrowed to $770m from $2.8bn in the same period a year earlier, as onboard and other revenues rose to $4.3bn from $546m.
Chief executive officer Josh Weinstein said: “Since announcing the relaxation of our protocols last month, we have seen a meaningful improvement in booking volumes and are now running considerably ahead of strong 2019 levels.
“We expect to further capitalise on this momentum with renewed efforts to generate demand. We are focused on delivering significant revenue growth over the long-term, while taking advantage of near-term tactics to quickly capture price and bookings in the interim.”
Weinstein said Carnival continued its positive trajectory in Q3, achieving more than $300m of adjusted EBITDA and reaching nearly 90% occupancy on its August sailings.
“We are continuing to close the gap to 2019 as we progress through the year, building occupancy on higher capacity and lower unit costs,” he said.
London-listed Carnival shares were down 19% at 1605 BST at 595.80p.
