Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NCLH) Q3 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

Page 4 of 4

Conor Cunningham: Hi, everyone. Thank you. Just back to costs for a quick second, sorry about that. Just you have a lack of new deliveries in 2024, and you’ve talked about your strong book position. It just curious on how that might change your marketing spend into next year? It just seems like there will be a natural step down. And then just like the lack of overall deliveries is really what sticks out to me relative to some of your peers in 2024. So just curious on how you’re thinking about that specific plan on it. Thank you.

Mark Kempa: Thanks, Conor. Yes, you’re absolutely right. We don’t take after recent grant during December, we don’t take our next delivery until spring time of 2025. So we do have a little bit of opportunity there. But I think when you think about the cost and specifically, your question around marketing, there will be — we do expect a reduction in that area. I would not classify it as a significant reduction because obviously, you are still selling for new capacity that’s coming on in 2025, and you sell that well in advance of the delivery date. But of course, we would expect to find some efficiencies on that front simply as a result of that timing between deliveries.

Harry Sommer: Yes. Keep in mind, just as a follow-up, that we do have two ships coming in the fleet in 2025, one for Oceania and one for in Seattle, both in the first half of the year.

Conor Cunningham: Okay.

Harry Sommer: I think we have time for one more question, John?

Operator: Thank you. And the final question comes from the line of Patrick Scholes with Truist Securities. Please proceed.

Patrick Scholes: Great. Thank you. Good morning, Harry and Mark. Certainly, there’s some new luxury higher-end capacity with Ritz-Carlton brand for seasons coming in the market next year in 2025. Are you seeing any impact from that new competitive supply on your two higher-end brands?

Harry Sommer: Patrick, they are mostly smaller ships, and it’s not a meaningful increase in capacity in the overall scheme of things. So the short answer to that question is no, Patrick. We’ve not seen any change in the trajectory of bookings for either region for Oceania.

Patrick Scholes: Okay. Thank you. And then just a quick follow-up question here. In the press release, you used the word optimal book position. I want to focus on the word optimal. Harry, what exactly is optimal in your mind? What does that mean in this case?

Harry Sommer: At a high level, we have defined optimal as being booked 60% to 65% for voyages departing in the next 12 months. It’s not a hard and fast rule. We’ve also said that we’re at a record level you can put those $0.02 together and make whatever extrapolation you like. But it’s really much more than that, we like to look at every single voyage where they are in the booking curve. Make sure that we’re not managing demand pricing, marking the expense in a way that maximizes our bottom line margins. And that’s what we mean by optimal. So there’s a macro concept and a granular concept on a voyage basis.

Patrick Scholes: Okay. Thank you.

Harry Sommer: Thank you, Patrick. So, once again, I want to thank everyone for joining us today. We’ll be around to answer any questions and you get both Jessica and Sarah today, two for one. So with that, I’d love to wish you a good day. Stay safe and all the best. Thank you.

Operator: Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes today’s conference call. You may now disconnect. Thank you.

Follow Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NASDAQ:NCLH)

Page 4 of 4