UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations | 29 | |||
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PART I. FINANCIAL INFORMATION
Item 1. Financial Statements
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd.
Consolidated Statements of Operations
(Unaudited)
(in thousands, except share and per share data)
Three Months Ended | Nine Months Ended | |||||||||||
September 30, | September 30, | |||||||||||
| 2021 |
| 2020 |
| 2021 |
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Revenue |
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Passenger ticket | $ | | $ | | $ | | $ | | ||||
Onboard and other |
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Total revenue |
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Cruise operating expense |
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Commissions, transportation and other |
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Onboard and other |
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Payroll and related |
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Fuel |
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Food |
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Other |
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Total cruise operating expense |
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Other operating expense |
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Marketing, general and administrative |
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Depreciation and amortization |
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Impairment loss | — | — | — | | ||||||||
Total other operating expense |
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Operating loss |
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Non-operating income (expense) |
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Interest expense, net |
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Other income (expense), net |
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Total non-operating income (expense) |
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Net loss before income taxes |
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Income tax benefit (expense) |
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Net loss | $ | ( | $ | ( | $ | ( | $ | ( | ||||
Weighted-average shares outstanding |
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Basic |
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Diluted |
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Loss per share |
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Basic | $ | ( | $ | ( | $ | ( | $ | ( | ||||
Diluted | $ | ( | $ | ( | $ | ( | $ | ( |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
3
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd.
Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss
(Unaudited)
(in thousands)
Three Months Ended | Nine Months Ended | |||||||||||
September 30, | September 30, | |||||||||||
| 2021 |
| 2020 |
| 2021 |
| 2020 | |||||
Net loss | $ | ( | $ | ( | $ | ( | $ | ( | ||||
Other comprehensive income (loss): |
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Shipboard Retirement Plan |
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Cash flow hedges: |
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Net unrealized gain (loss) |
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Amount realized and reclassified into earnings |
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Total other comprehensive income (loss) |
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Total comprehensive loss | $ | ( | $ | ( | $ | ( | $ | ( |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
4
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd.
Consolidated Balance Sheets
(Unaudited)
(in thousands, except share data)
September 30, | December 31, | |||||
| 2021 |
| 2020 | |||
Assets |
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Current assets: |
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Cash and cash equivalents | $ | | $ | | ||
Accounts receivable, net |
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Inventories |
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Prepaid expenses and other assets |
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Total current assets |
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Property and equipment, net |
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Goodwill |
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Trade names |
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Other long-term assets |
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Total assets | $ | | $ | | ||
Liabilities and shareholders’ equity |
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Current liabilities: |
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Current portion of long-term debt | $ | | $ | | ||
Accounts payable |
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Accrued expenses and other liabilities |
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Advance ticket sales |
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Total current liabilities |
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Long-term debt |
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Other long-term liabilities |
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Total liabilities |
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Commitments and contingencies (Note 10) |
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Shareholders’ equity: |
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Ordinary shares, $ |
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Additional paid-in capital |
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Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) |
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Retained earnings (deficit) |
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Total shareholders’ equity |
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Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity | $ | | $ | |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
5
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd.
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
(Unaudited)
(in thousands)
Nine Months Ended | ||||||
September 30, | ||||||
| 2021 |
| 2020 | |||
Cash flows from operating activities |
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Net loss | $ | ( | $ | ( | ||
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities: |
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Depreciation and amortization expense |
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Impairment loss | — | | ||||
Deferred income taxes, net |
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(Gain) loss on derivatives | ( | | ||||
Loss on extinguishment of debt |
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Provision for bad debts and inventory obsolescence |
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Gain on involuntary conversion of assets | ( | ( | ||||
Share-based compensation expense |
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Net foreign currency adjustments |
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Changes in operating assets and liabilities: |
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Accounts receivable, net |
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Inventories |
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Prepaid expenses and other assets |
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Accounts payable |
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Accrued expenses and other liabilities |
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Advance ticket sales |
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Net cash used in operating activities |
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Cash flows from investing activities |
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Additions to property and equipment, net |
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Cash paid on settlement of derivatives | ( | ( | ||||
Other | | | ||||
Net cash used in investing activities |
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Cash flows from financing activities |
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Repayments of long-term debt |
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Proceeds from long-term debt |
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Common share issuance proceeds, net | | | ||||
Proceeds from employee related plans |
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Net share settlement of restricted share units |
| ( |
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Early redemption premium |
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Deferred financing fees |
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Net cash provided by financing activities |
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Effect of exchange rates on cash and cash equivalents | — | ( | ||||
Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents |
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Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period |
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Cash and cash equivalents at end of period | $ | | $ | |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
6
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd.
Consolidated Statements of Changes in Shareholders’ Equity
(Unaudited)
(in thousands)
Three Months Ended September 30, 2021 | ||||||||||||||||||
Accumulated | ||||||||||||||||||
Additional | Other | Retained | Total | |||||||||||||||
Ordinary | Paid-in | Comprehensive | Earnings | Treasury | Shareholders’ | |||||||||||||
Shares |
| Capital |
| Income (Loss) |
| (Deficit) |
| Shares |
| Equity | ||||||||
Balance, June 30, 2021 |
| $ | | $ | | $ | ( | $ | ( | $ | — | $ | | |||||
Share-based compensation |
| — | | — | — | — |
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Issuance of shares under employee related plans |
| — | | — | — | — |
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Net share settlement of restricted share units |
| — | ( | — | — | — |
| ( | ||||||||||
Other comprehensive loss, net |
| — | — | ( | — | — |
| ( | ||||||||||
Net loss |
| — | — | — | ( | — |
| ( | ||||||||||
Balance, September 30, 2021 | $ | | $ | | $ | ( | $ | ( | $ | — | $ | | ||||||
Nine Months Ended September 30, 2021 | ||||||||||||||||||
Accumulated | ||||||||||||||||||
Additional | Other | Retained | Total | |||||||||||||||
Ordinary | Paid-in | Comprehensive | Earnings | Treasury | Shareholders’ | |||||||||||||
| Shares |
| Capital |
| Income (Loss) |
| (Deficit) |
| Shares |
| Equity | |||||||
Balance, December 31, 2020 |
| $ | | $ | | $ | ( | $ | ( | $ | — |
| $ | | ||||
Share-based compensation |
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Issuance of shares under employee related plans |
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Common share issuance proceeds, net | | | — | — | — | | ||||||||||||
Net share settlement of restricted share units |
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— | ( | — | | — | ( | |||||||||||||
Other | — | ( | — | — | — | ( | ||||||||||||
Other comprehensive loss, net |
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Net loss |
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Balance, September 30, 2021 | $ | | $ | | $ | ( | $ | ( | $ | — | $ | |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
7
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd.
Consolidated Statements of Changes in Shareholders’ Equity - Continued
(Unaudited)
(in thousands)
Three Months Ended September 30, 2020 | ||||||||||||||||||
Accumulated |
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Additional | Other | Retained | Total | |||||||||||||||
Ordinary | Paid-in | Comprehensive | Earnings | Treasury | Shareholders’ | |||||||||||||
Shares |
| Capital |
| Income (Loss) |
| (Deficit) |
| Shares | Equity | |||||||||
Balance, June 30, 2020 |
| $ | | $ | | $ | ( | $ | | $ | ( | $ | | |||||
Share-based compensation |
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Issuance of shares under employee related plans |
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Common share issuance proceeds, net | | | — | — | — | | ||||||||||||
Net share settlement of restricted share units |
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Other comprehensive income, net |
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Net loss |
| — | — | — | ( | — |
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Balance, September 30, 2020 | $ | | $ | | $ | ( | $ | | $ | ( | $ | | ||||||
Nine Months Ended September 30, 2020 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Accumulated |
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Additional | Other | Retained | Total | |||||||||||||||
Ordinary | Paid-in | Comprehensive | Earnings | Treasury | Shareholders’ | |||||||||||||
| Shares |
| Capital |
| Income (Loss) |
| (Deficit) |
| Shares | Equity | ||||||||
Balance, December 31, 2019 |
| $ | | $ | | $ | ( | $ | | $ | ( |
| $ | | ||||
Share-based compensation |
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Issuance of shares under employee related plans |
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Common share issuance proceeds, net |
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Net share settlement of restricted share units |
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| ( |
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Beneficial conversion feature |
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— | — | — | | — | | |||||||||||||
Other comprehensive loss, net | — |
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| ( |
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Net loss |
| — | — | — | ( | — |
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Balance, September 30, 2020 | $ | | $ | | $ | ( | $ | | $ | ( | $ | |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
8
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd.
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
(Unaudited)
Unless otherwise indicated or the context otherwise requires, references in this report to (i) the “Company,” “we,” “our” and “us” refer to NCLH (as defined below) and its subsidiaries (including Prestige (as defined below), (ii) “NCLC” refers to NCL Corporation Ltd., (iii) “NCLH” refers to Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd., (iv) “Norwegian Cruise Line” or “Norwegian” refers to the Norwegian Cruise Line brand and its predecessors, and (v) “Prestige” refers to Prestige Cruises International S. de R.L. (formerly Prestige Cruises International, Inc.), together with its consolidated subsidiaries, including Prestige Cruise Holdings S. de R.L. (formerly Prestige Cruise Holdings, Inc.), Prestige’s direct wholly-owned subsidiary, which in turn is the parent of Oceania Cruises S. de R.L. (formerly Oceania Cruises, Inc.) (“Oceania Cruises”) and Seven Seas Cruises S. de R.L. (“Regent”) (Oceania Cruises also refers to the brand by the same name and Regent also refers to the brand Regent Seven Seas Cruises).
References to the “U.S.” are to the United States of America, and “dollar(s)” or “$” are to U.S. dollars, the “U.K.” are to the United Kingdom and “euro(s)” or “€” are to the official currency of the Eurozone. We refer you to “Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations— Terminology” for the capitalized terms used and not otherwise defined throughout these notes to consolidated financial statements.
1. Description of Business and Organization
We are a leading global cruise company which operates the Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises brands. As of September 30, 2021, we had
We have
2. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
Liquidity and Management’s Plan
Due to the impact of COVID-19, travel restrictions and limited access to ports around the world, in March 2020, the Company implemented a voluntary suspension of all cruise voyages across its
In January 2021, we amended our Senior Secured Credit Facility to further defer certain amortization payments due prior to June 30, 2022 and to waive certain financial and other covenants through December 31, 2022. In February 2021, we amended certain of our export-credit backed facilities to further defer amortization payments through March 31, 2022, and we amended all of our export-credit backed facilities to suspend certain financial covenants through December 31, 2022. In connection with such amendments of our Senior Secured Credit Facility and our export-credit backed facilities, our minimum liquidity requirement was increased to $
9
collectively totaling approximately $
In the third quarter of 2021, we began a phased relaunch of certain cruise voyages with our ships initially operating at reduced occupancy levels. The Company continues to execute on the phased relaunch plans for its
The estimation of our future cash flow projections includes numerous assumptions that are subject to various risks and uncertainties. Our principal assumptions for future cash flow projections include:
● | Expected gradual phased return to service at reduced occupancy levels, increasing over time until we reach historical occupancy levels; |
● | Forecasted cash collections primarily upon completion of future voyages and the payment of cash refunds for any further cancellations, in accordance with the terms of our credit card processing agreements (see Note 10 - “Commitments and Contingencies”); and |
● | Expected incremental expenses for resumption of cruise voyages, including the maintenance of and compliance with additional health and safety protocols. |
We cannot make assurances that our assumptions used to estimate our liquidity requirements will not change due to the unique and unpredictable nature of the pandemic, including its magnitude and duration. Accordingly, the full effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on our financial performance and financial condition cannot be quantified at this time. We have made reasonable estimates and judgments of the impact of COVID-19 within our financial statements and there may be material changes to those estimates in future periods. We will report a net loss for the three months and year ending December 31, 2021 and expect to report a net loss until we are able to resume regular voyages. We have taken actions to improve our liquidity, including completing various capital market transactions and making capital expenditure and operating expense reductions, and we expect to continue to pursue other opportunities to improve our liquidity and to refinance our debt to reduce interest expense and extend maturities.
Based on these actions and assumptions regarding the impact of COVID-19, and considering our available liquidity, including cash and cash equivalents of $
Basis of Presentation
The accompanying consolidated financial statements are unaudited and, in our opinion, contain all normal recurring adjustments necessary for a fair statement of the results for the periods presented.
Our operations are seasonal and results for interim periods are not necessarily indicative of the results for the entire fiscal year. Historically, demand for cruises has been strongest during the Northern Hemisphere’s summer months; however, our cruise voyages were completely suspended from March 2020 until July 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and our resumption of cruise voyages will be phased in gradually as described under “—Liquidity and Management’s Plan” above. The interim consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2020, which are included in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on February 26, 2021.
10
Loss Per Share
A reconciliation between basic and diluted loss per share was as follows (in thousands, except share and per share data):
Three Months Ended | Nine Months Ended | |||||||||||
September 30, | September 30, | |||||||||||
| 2021 |
| 2020 |
| 2021 |
| 2020 | |||||
Net loss | $ | ( | $ | ( | $ | ( | $ | ( | ||||
Basic weighted-average shares outstanding |
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Dilutive effect of share awards |
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Diluted weighted-average shares outstanding |
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Basic loss per share | $ | ( | $ | ( | $ | ( | $ | ( | ||||
Diluted loss per share | $ | ( | $ | ( | $ | ( | $ | ( |
For the three months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020, a total of
Foreign Currency
The majority of our transactions are settled in U.S. dollars. We remeasure assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies at exchange rates in effect at the balance sheet date. Gains or losses resulting from transactions denominated in other currencies are recognized in our consolidated statements of operations within other income (expense), net. We recognized a gain of $
Depreciation and Amortization Expense
The amortization of deferred financing fees is included in depreciation and amortization expense in the consolidated statements of cash flows; however, for purposes of the consolidated statements of operations they are included in interest expense, net.
Accounts Receivable, Net
Accounts receivable, net includes $
Recently Issued Accounting Guidance
In March 2020, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2020-04, Reference Rate Reform (Topic 848): Facilitation of the Effects of Reference Rate Reform on Financial Reporting (“ASU 2020-04”), which provided guidance to alleviate the burden in accounting for reference rate reform by allowing certain expedients and exceptions in applying GAAP to contracts, hedging relationships and other transactions impacted by reference rate reform. The provisions apply only to those transactions that reference LIBOR or another reference rate expected to be discontinued due to reference rate reform. Adoption of the provisions of ASU 2020-04 are optional and are effective from March 12, 2020 through December 31, 2022. As of September 30, 2021, we have not adopted any expedients and exceptions under ASU 2020-04. We will continue to evaluate the impact of ASU 2020-04 on our consolidated financial statements.
11
3. Revenue Recognition
Disaggregation of Revenue
Revenue and cash flows are affected by economic factors in various geographical regions. Revenues by destination were as follows (in thousands):
Three Months Ended | Nine Months Ended | |||||||||||
September 30, | September 30, | |||||||||||
| 2021 |
| 2020 |
| 2021 |
| 2020 | |||||
North America | $ | | $ | | $ | | $ | | ||||
Europe |
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Asia-Pacific |
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South America | | | | | ||||||||
Other |
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Total revenue | $ | | $ | | $ | | $ | |
North America includes the U.S., the Caribbean, Canada and Mexico. Europe includes the Baltic region, Canary Islands and Mediterranean. Asia-Pacific includes Australia, New Zealand and Asia. Other includes all other international territories.
Segment Reporting
We have concluded that our business has a single reportable segment. Each brand, Norwegian, Oceania Cruises and Regent, constitutes a business for which discrete financial information is available and management regularly reviews the brand level operating results and, therefore, each brand is considered an operating segment. Our operating segments have similar economic and qualitative characteristics, including similar long-term margins and similar products and services; therefore, we aggregate all of the operating segments into
Although we sell cruises on an international basis, our passenger ticket revenue is primarily attributed to U.S.-sourced guests who make reservations in the U.S. Revenue attributable to U.S.-sourced guests has historically approximated
Contract Balances
Receivables from customers are included within accounts receivable, net. As of September 30, 2021 and December 31, 2020, our receivables from customers were $
Beginning in March 2020, our brands launched new cancellation policies to permit our guests to cancel cruises which are not part of the Company’s temporary suspension of voyages up to 15 days prior to departure. These programs were in place for cruises booked through specific time periods specified by brand, and for cruises scheduled to embark through October 31, 2021. Certain cruises booked for certain periods will be permitted a 60-day cancellation window for refunds. Future cruise credits that have been issued are valid for any sailing through December 31, 2022, and we may extend this offer. The future cruise credits are not contracts, and therefore, guests who elected this option are excluded from our contract liability balance; however, the credit for the original amount paid is included in advance ticket sales or other long-term liabilities as applicable.
Our contract liabilities are included within advance ticket sales. As of September 30, 2021 and December 31, 2020, our contract liabilities were $
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beginning of the period. The revenue recognized in the nine months ended September 30, 2020 that was included in contract liabilities as of the beginning of the period was $
For cruise vacations that had been cancelled by us due to COVID-19, during the three months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020, approximately $
4. Leases
In April 2020, the FASB issued interpretive guidance relating to the accounting for lease concessions provided as a result of COVID-19. In this guidance, entities can elect not to apply lease modification accounting with respect to such lease concessions and instead, treat the concession as if it was a part of the existing contract. The Company has elected to not evaluate leases under the lease modification accounting framework for concessions that result from effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. In relation to our rights to use port facilities, we have elected the approach consistent with resolving a contingency, which allows us to remeasure the lease liability and recognize the amount of change in the lease liability as an adjustment to the carrying amount of the associated right-of-use asset. As the full amount of the concession will not be determinable until the force majeure period under the related arrangements have ended, periodic remeasurements will be required. During the contingency period, we are recognizing lease expense for these port facilities as incurred.
Lease balances were as follows (in thousands):
| Balance Sheet location |
| September 30, 2021 |
| December 31, 2020 | |||
Operating leases |
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Right-of-use assets |
| $ | | $ | | |||
Current operating lease liabilities |
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Non-current operating lease liabilities |
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Finance leases |
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Right-of-use assets |
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Current finance lease liabilities |
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Non-current finance lease liabilities |
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During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021, right-of-use assets obtained in exchange for lease obligations were $
As of September 30, 2021, maturities of lease liabilities were as follows (in thousands):
| Operating |
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| leases |
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Remainder of 2021 | $ | | ||
2022 | | |||
2023 |
| | ||
2024 |
| | ||
2025 |
| | ||
Thereafter |
| | ||
Total |
| | ||
Less: Present value discount |
| ( | ||
Present value of lease liabilities | $ | |
13
5. Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) for the nine months ended September 30, 2021 was as follows (in thousands):
Nine Months Ended September 30, 2021 | ||||||||||
|
| Change | ||||||||
Accumulated | Change | Related to | ||||||||
Other | Related to | Shipboard | ||||||||
Comprehensive | Cash Flow | Retirement | ||||||||
| Income (Loss) |
| Hedges | Plan | ||||||
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) at beginning of period | $ | ( | $ | ( | $ | ( |
| |||
Current period other comprehensive loss before reclassifications |
| ( |
| ( |
|
| — |
| ||
Amounts reclassified into earnings |
| |
| | (1) |
| | (2) | ||
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) at end of period | $ | ( | $ | ( | (3) | $ | ( |
|
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) for the nine months ended September 30, 2020 was as follows (in thousands):
Nine Months Ended September 30, 2020 | ||||||||||
|
| Change |
| |||||||
Accumulated | Change | Related to | ||||||||
Other | Related to | Shipboard | ||||||||
Comprehensive | Cash Flow | Retirement | ||||||||
| Income (Loss) |
| Hedges | Plan | ||||||
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) at beginning of period |
| $ | ( | $ | ( | $ | ( |
| ||
Current period other comprehensive loss before reclassifications |
|
| ( |
|
| ( |
|
| — |
|
Amounts reclassified into earnings |
|
| |
|
| | (1) |
| | (2) |
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) at end of period |
| $ | ( |
| $ | ( | $ | ( |
|
(1) | We refer you to Note 8 – “Fair Value Measurements and Derivatives” for the affected line items in the consolidated statements of operations. |
(2) | Amortization of prior-service cost and actuarial loss reclassified to other income (expense), net. |
(3) | Includes $ |
6. Property and Equipment, net
Property and equipment, net increased $
7. Long-Term Debt
Credit Facilities
In January 2021, NCLC entered into an amendment agreement (the “First Amendment”), which amends the Amended and Restated Credit Agreement, dated as of May 8, 2020 (the “Fifth ARCA” and, as amended by the First Amendment, the “Senior Secured Credit Facility”). The First Amendment provides that, among other things, (a) amortization payments due between the First Amendment effective date and prior to June 30, 2022 (the “First Amendment Deferral Period”) on the Legacy Term Loan A and Term Loan A-1 held by lenders that have consented to such deferral (the “First Amendment Deferring Lenders”) are deferred and such deferred principal amount constitutes a separate tranche of loans (the “Deferred Term Loan A-1”) and (b) the tranche of loans held by certain lenders (the “Fifth ARCA Deferring
14
Lenders”) on which amortization payments due within the first year after effectiveness of the Fifth ARCA were deferred (the “Deferred Term Loan A”) of First Amendment Deferring Lenders were converted into Deferred Term Loan A-1 loans. The class of loans constituting the Term Loan A Facility (other than the Deferred Term Loan A) held by the Fifth ARCA Deferring Lenders (the “Term Loan A-1”) and the class of loans constituting the portion of the Term Loan A Facility that is held by lenders other than the Fifth ARCA Deferring Lenders (the “Legacy Term Loan A”) that were held by the First Amendment Deferring Lenders (other than amounts converted into the Deferred Term Loan A-1) constitute a separate tranche of loans (the “Term Loan A-2”), with the same terms as the Legacy Term Loan A and Term Loan A-1 under the Fifth ARCA, except that amortization payments on the Term Loan A-2 shall be deferred during the First Amendment Deferral Period and thereafter such Term Loan A-2 will amortize in an aggregate principal amount equal to approximately
The First Amendment provides that, (a) from the First Amendment effective date to and including December 31, 2022 (the “Covenant Relief Period”) the testing of the loan to value, debt to capitalization and EBITDA to debt service covenants under the Senior Secured Credit Facility will be suspended and the free liquidity test will be replaced by a covenant to maintain at least $
Additionally, in February 2021, NCLC amended all of its export-credit backed facilities to defer amortization payments aggregating approximately $
The facilities that finance Norwegian Breakaway, Norwegian Getaway, Norwegian Escape, Norwegian Joy, Norwegian Bliss, Norwegian Encore, Seven Seas Explorer, Seven Seas Splendor, Riviera and Marina were amended to provide that, among other things, (a) amortization payments due from April 1, 2021 to March 31, 2022 (the “Second Deferral Period”) on the loans will be deferred and (b) the principal amounts so deferred will constitute separate tranches of loans under the facilities. The separate tranches of loans will accrue interest at a floating rate per annum based on six-month LIBOR plus a margin as follows:
Margin | |||
€ | | % | |
€ | | % | |
€ | | % | |
€ | | % | |
€ | | % | |
€ | | % | |
Explorer newbuild loan | | % | |
Splendor newbuild loan | | % | |
Marina newbuild loan | | % | |
Riviera newbuild loan | | % |
After the end of the Second Deferral Period, the deferred loans will amortize in an aggregate principal amount equal to
15
In addition, all of NCLC’s export-credit backed facilities were amended to provide that, from the effective date of the amendments to and including December 31, 2022, certain of the financial covenants under such facilities will be suspended and the free liquidity test will be replaced by a covenant to maintain at least $
In April 2021, an agreement was executed to defer certain newbuild related debt amortization to July 2022. The aggregate amount of debt amortization that was deferred was €
The amendments of the agreements described above resulted in aggregate modification expenses of $
In May 2021, NCLC entered into a €
In July 2021, we amended
Unsecured Notes
In December 2020, NCLC conducted a private offering of $
In March 2021, NCL Finance, Ltd., an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of NCLH and NCLC, additionally conducted a private offering of $
16
offerings, subject to certain restrictions, at a redemption price equal to
The indentures governing the 2026 Senior Unsecured Notes and 2028 Senior Unsecured Notes include requirements that, among other things and subject to a number of qualifications and exceptions, restrict the ability of NCLC and its restricted subsidiaries, as applicable, to (i) incur or guarantee additional indebtedness; (ii) pay dividends or distributions on, or redeem or repurchase, equity interests and make other restricted payments; (iii) make investments; (iv) consummate certain asset sales; (v) engage in certain transactions with affiliates; (vi) grant or assume certain liens; and (vii) consolidate, merge or transfer all or substantially all of their assets.
In November 2021, the Company executed a $
Exchangeable Notes
In August 2020, the FASB issued ASU No. 2020-06, Debt—Debt with Conversion and Other Options (Subtopic 470-20) and Derivatives and Hedging—Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity (Subtopic 815-40) Accounting for Convertible Instruments and Contracts in an Entity’s Own Equity (“ASU 2020-06”), which reduces the number of accounting models for convertible debt instruments and enhances transparency in disclosures. One model which is being eliminated is the bifurcation of embedded conversion features that are not accounted for separately as derivatives. Each of the 2024 Exchangeable Notes, 2025 Exchangeable Notes, and Private Exchangeable Notes (as defined below) contain or contained conversion options that may be settled with NCLH’s ordinary shares. As the options will be both indexed to and settled in our ordinary shares, they are not accounted for separately as derivatives. The Private Exchangeable Notes contained a beneficial conversion feature, which was recognized within additional paid-in capital with an offsetting discount to the carrying amount of the debt. The discount was amortized to interest expense through December 31, 2020. On January 1, 2021, we early adopted ASU 2020-06 using a modified retrospective approach. As a result, the $
NCLC has outstanding $
NCLC also has outstanding $
17
adjustment for any stock split, stock dividend or similar transaction. The 2025 Exchangeable Notes pay interest at
As of December 31, 2020, NCLC also had outstanding $
In March 2021, NCLH completed an equity offering that resulted in
The following is a summary of NCLC’s convertible debt instruments as of September 30, 2021 (in thousands):
Unamortized | ||||||||||||||
| Principal | Deferred | Net Carrying | Fair Value | ||||||||||
| Amount |
| Financing Fees |
| Amount |
| Amount |
| Leveling | |||||
2024 Exchangeable Notes | $ | | $ | ( | $ | | $ | | Level 2 | |||||
2025 Exchangeable Notes | | ( | | | Level 2 |
The remaining period over which the unamortized deferred financing fees will be recognized as non-cash interest expense is
The following is a summary of NCLC’s convertible debt instruments as of December 31, 2020 (in thousands):
Unamortized Debt | ||||||||||||||
Discount, | ||||||||||||||
| Principal | including Deferred | Net Carrying | Fair Value | ||||||||||
| Amount |
| Financing Fees |
| Amount |
| Amount |
| Leveling | |||||
2024 Exchangeable Notes | $ | | $ | ( | $ | | $ | | Level 2 | |||||
2025 Exchangeable Notes | | ( | | | Level 2 | |||||||||
Private Exchangeable Notes | | ( | | | Level 2 |
In addition, as of December 31, 2020, we had recognized a $
18
The following provides a summary of the interest expense of NCLC’s convertible debt instruments (in thousands):
Three Months | Nine Months | |||||
Ended September 30, | Ended September 30, | |||||
2021 |
| 2021 | ||||
Coupon interest | | | ||||
Amortization of deferred financing fees | | | ||||
Total | $ | | $ | |
Prior to the adoption of ASU 2020-06, interest expense, including amortization of debt discounts and coupon interest, recognized related to the convertible debt instruments was $
The effective interest rate is
As of September 30, 2021, the if-converted value above par was $
Debt Repayments
The following are scheduled principal repayments on our long-term debt including finance lease obligations as of September 30, 2021 for each of the following periods (in thousands):
Year |
| Amount | |
Remainder of 2021 | $ | | |
2022 |
| | |
2023 |
| | |
2024 |
| | |
2025 |
| | |
Thereafter |
| | |
Total | $ | |
Debt Covenants
We have received certain financial and other debt covenant waivers through December 31, 2022 and added new free liquidity requirements. At September 30, 2021, taking into account such waivers, we were in compliance with all of our debt covenants. If we do not continue to remain in compliance with our covenants, including following the expiration of any current waivers, we would have to seek additional amendments to our covenants. However, no assurances can be made that such amendments would be approved by our lenders. Generally, if an event of default under any debt agreement occurs, then pursuant to cross default and/or cross acceleration clauses, substantially all of our outstanding debt and derivative contract payables could become due, and all debt and derivative contracts could be terminated, which would have a material adverse impact on our operations and liquidity.
8. Fair Value Measurements and Derivatives
Fair value is defined as the price at which an orderly transaction to sell an asset or to transfer a liability would take place between market participants at the measurement date under current market conditions (that is, an exit price at the measurement date from the perspective of a market participant that holds the asset or owes the liability).
19
Fair Value Hierarchy
The following hierarchy for inputs used in measuring fair value should maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs by requiring that the most observable inputs be used when available:
Level 1 Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities that are accessible at the measurement dates.
Level 2 Significant other observable inputs that are used by market participants in pricing the asset or liability based on market data obtained from independent sources.
Level 3 Significant unobservable inputs we believe market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability based on the best information available.
Derivatives
We are exposed to market risk attributable to changes in interest rates, foreign currency exchange rates and fuel prices. We attempt to minimize these risks through a combination of our normal operating and financing activities and through the use of derivatives. We assess whether derivatives used in hedging transactions are “highly effective” in offsetting changes in the cash flow of our hedged forecasted transactions. We use regression analysis for this hedge relationship and high effectiveness is achieved when a statistically valid relationship reflects a high degree of offset and correlation between the fair values of the derivative and the hedged forecasted transaction. Cash flows from the derivatives are classified in the same category as the cash flows from the underlying hedged transaction. If it is determined that the hedged forecasted transaction is no longer probable of occurring, then the amount recognized in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) is released to earnings. There are no amounts excluded from the assessment of hedge effectiveness and there are no credit-risk-related contingent features in our derivative agreements. We monitor concentrations of credit risk associated with financial and other institutions with which we conduct significant business. Credit risk, including but not limited to counterparty non-performance under derivatives, is not considered significant, as we primarily conduct business with large, well-established financial institutions with which we have established relationships, and which have credit risks acceptable to us, or the credit risk is spread out among many creditors. We do not anticipate non-performance by any of our significant counterparties.
As of September 30, 2021, we had fuel swaps which are used to mitigate the financial impact of volatility of fuel prices pertaining to approximately
On January 1, 2021, our fuel swaps designated as hedges for marine gas oil maturing through December 31, 2021 were dedesignated as cash flow hedges. As of September 30, 2021, we had, in aggregate with previously dedesignated fuel swaps, approximately
As of September 30, 2021, we had foreign currency forward contracts, matured foreign currency options and matured foreign currency collars which are used to mitigate the financial impact of volatility in foreign currency exchange rates related to our ship construction contracts denominated in euros. The notional amount of our foreign currency forward contracts was €
As of September 30, 2021, we had an interest rate swap, which is used to hedge our exposure to interest rate movements and manage our interest expense. The notional amount of our outstanding debt associated with the interest rate swap was $
20
The derivatives measured at fair value and the respective location in the consolidated balance sheets include the following (in thousands):
Assets | Liabilities | |||||||||||||
September 30, | December 31, | September 30, | December 31, | |||||||||||
| Balance Sheet Location |
| 2021 |
| 2020 |
| 2021 |
| 2020 | |||||
Derivative Contracts Designated as Hedging Instruments | ||||||||||||||
Fuel contracts | ||||||||||||||
Prepaid expenses and other assets | $ | | $ | — | $ | — | $ | — | ||||||
Other long-term assets | | — | — | — | ||||||||||
Accrued expenses and other liabilities |
| — |
| — |
| — |
| | ||||||
Other long-term liabilities |
| — |
| — |
| — |
| | ||||||
Foreign currency contracts | ||||||||||||||
Prepaid expenses and other assets |
| |
| |
| — |
| — | ||||||
Other long-term assets |
| |
| |
| — |
| — | ||||||
Accrued expenses and other liabilities |
| — |
| — |
| |
| | ||||||
Other long-term liabilities |
| |
| |
| |
| | ||||||
Interest rate contracts | ||||||||||||||
Accrued expenses and other liabilities |
| — |
| — |
| |
| | ||||||
Other long-term liabilities | — |
| — |
| — | | ||||||||
Total derivatives designated as hedging instruments | $ | | $ | | $ | | $ | | ||||||
Derivative Contracts Not Designated as Hedging Instruments | ||||||||||||||
Fuel contracts | ||||||||||||||
Prepaid expenses and other assets | $ | | $ | — | $ | — | $ | — | ||||||
Other long-term assets | | — | — | — | ||||||||||
Accrued expenses and other liabilities | — | | — | | ||||||||||
Other long-term liabilities | — | — | — | | ||||||||||
Total derivatives not designated as hedging instruments | $ | | $ | | $ | — | $ | | ||||||
Total derivatives | $ | | $ | | $ | | $ | |
The fair values of swap and forward contracts are determined based on inputs that are readily available in public markets or can be derived from information available in publicly quoted markets. The Company determines the value of options and collars utilizing an option pricing model based on inputs that are either readily available in public markets or can be derived from information available in publicly quoted markets. The option pricing model used by the Company is an industry standard model for valuing options and is used by the broker/dealer community. The inputs to this option pricing model are the option strike price, underlying price, risk-free rate of interest, time to expiration, and volatility. The fair value of option contracts considers both the intrinsic value and any remaining time value associated with those derivatives that have not yet settled. The Company also considers counterparty credit risk and its own credit risk in its determination of all estimated fair values.
Our derivatives and financial instruments were categorized as Level 2 in the fair value hierarchy, and we had no derivatives or financial instruments categorized as Level 1 or Level 3. Our derivative contracts include rights of offset with our counterparties. We have elected to net certain assets and liabilities within counterparties when the rights of offset exist. We are not required to post cash collateral related to our derivative instruments.
21
The following table discloses the gross and net amounts recognized within assets and liabilities (in thousands):
Gross | Gross | ||||||||||||||
Gross | Amounts | Total Net | Amounts | ||||||||||||
September 30, 2021 |
| Amounts |
| Offset |
| Amounts |
| Not Offset |
| Net Amounts | |||||
Assets | $ | | $ | — | $ | | $ | ( | $ | — | |||||
Liabilities | | ( | | ( | |
Gross | Gross | ||||||||||||||
Gross | Amounts | Total Net | Amounts | ||||||||||||
December 31, 2020 |
| Amounts |
| Offset |
| Amounts |
| Not Offset |
| Net Amounts | |||||
Assets | $ | | $ | — | $ | | $ | ( | $ | — | |||||
Liabilities | | ( | | ( | |
The effects of cash flow hedge accounting on accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) were as follows (in thousands):
Location of Gain | ||||||||||||||
(Loss) Reclassified | ||||||||||||||
from Accumulated | Amount of Gain (Loss) Reclassified | |||||||||||||
Amount of Gain (Loss) | Other Comprehensive | from Accumulated Other | ||||||||||||
Recognized in Other | Income (Loss) into | Comprehensive Income | ||||||||||||
Derivatives |
| Comprehensive Loss |
| Income (Expense) |
| (Loss) into Income (Expense) | ||||||||
Three Months | Three Months | Three Months | Three Months | |||||||||||
Ended | Ended | Ended | Ended | |||||||||||
| September 30, 2021 |
| September 30, 2020 |
|
| September 30, 2021 |
| September 30, 2020 | ||||||
Fuel contracts | $ | | $ | ( |
| Fuel | $ | ( | $ | ( | ||||
Fuel contracts | — | — | Other income (expense), net | ( | ( | |||||||||
Foreign currency contracts |
| ( |
| |
| Depreciation and amortization |
| ( |
| ( | ||||
Interest rate contracts |
| ( |
| |
| Interest expense, net |
| ( |
| ( | ||||
Total gain (loss) recognized in other comprehensive loss | $ | ( | $ | |
|
| $ | ( | $ | ( |
Location of Gain |
|
| ||||||||||||
(Loss) Reclassified | ||||||||||||||
from Accumulated | Amount of Gain (Loss) Reclassified | |||||||||||||
Amount of Gain (Loss) | Other Comprehensive | from Accumulated Other | ||||||||||||
Recognized in Other | Income (Loss) into | Comprehensive Income | ||||||||||||
Derivatives |
| Comprehensive Loss |
| Income (Expense) |
| (Loss) into Income (Expense) | ||||||||
Nine Months | Nine Months | Nine Months | Nine Months | |||||||||||
Ended | Ended | Ended | Ended | |||||||||||
| September 30, 2021 |
| September 30, 2020 |
| September 30, 2021 |
| September 30, 2020 | |||||||
Fuel contracts |
| $ | | $ | ( | Fuel |
| $ | ( | $ | ( | |||
Fuel contracts | — | — | Other income (expense), net | ( | ( | |||||||||
Foreign currency contracts |
|
| ( |
| | Depreciation and amortization |
|
| ( |
| ( | |||
Interest rate contracts |
|
| |
| ( | Interest expense, net |
|
| ( |
| ( | |||
Total gain (loss) recognized in other comprehensive loss |
| $ | ( | $ | ( |
|
| $ | ( | $ | ( |
22
The effects of cash flow hedge accounting on the consolidated statements of operations include the following (in thousands):
Three Months Ended September 30, 2021 | Three Months Ended September 30, 2020 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Depreciation | Depreciation | |||||||||||||||||||||||
and | Interest | Other Income | and | Interest | Other Income | |||||||||||||||||||
| Fuel |
| Amortization |
| Expense, net |
| (Expense), net |
| Fuel |
| Amortization |
| Expense, net |
| (Expense), net | |||||||||
Total amounts of income and expense line items presented in the consolidated statements of operations in which the effects of cash flow hedges are recorded | $ | | $ | | $ | | $ | | $ | | $ | | $ | | $ | ( | ||||||||
Amount of gain (loss) reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) into income (expense) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| ||||||||
Fuel contracts | ( | — | — | — | ( | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||
Foreign currency contracts | — | ( | — | — | — | ( | — | — | ||||||||||||||||
Interest rate contracts | — | — | ( | — | — | — | ( | — | ||||||||||||||||
Amount of gain (loss) reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) into income (expense) as a result that a forecasted transaction is no longer probable of occurring | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Fuel contracts | — | — | — | ( | — | — | — | ( | ||||||||||||||||
Amount of gain recognized in income as a result of failing effectiveness tests | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Fuel contracts | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
23
Nine Months Ended September 30, 2021 | Nine Months Ended September 30, 2020 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Depreciation | Depreciation | |||||||||||||||||||||||
and | Interest | Other Income | and | Interest | Other Income | |||||||||||||||||||
| Fuel |
| Amortization |
| Expense, net |
| (Expense), net |
| Fuel |
| Amortization |
| Expense, net |
| (Expense), net | |||||||||
Total amounts of income and expense line items presented in the consolidated statements of operations in which the effects of cash flow hedges are recorded | $ | | $ | | $ | | $ | | $ | | $ | | $ | | $ | ( | ||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
| |||||||||||||||||||
Amount of gain (loss) reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) into income (expense) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |||||||||
Fuel contracts |
| ( |
| — |
| — |
| — |
| ( |
| — |
| — | — | |||||||||
Foreign currency contracts |
| — | ( |
| — |
| — |
| — |
| ( |
| — | — | ||||||||||
Interest rate contracts |
| — |
| — |
| ( |
| — |
| — |
| — |
| ( | — | |||||||||
Amount of gain (loss) reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) into income (expense) as a result that a forecasted transaction is no longer probable of occurring | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Fuel contracts | — | — | — | ( | — | — | — | ( | ||||||||||||||||
Amount of gain recognized in income as a result of failing effectiveness tests | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Fuel contracts | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
The effects of derivatives not designated as hedging instruments on the consolidated statements of operations include the following (in thousands):
Amount of Gain (Loss) Recognized in Income | |||||||||||||
Three Months Ended | Nine Months Ended | ||||||||||||
September 30, | September 30, | ||||||||||||
Location of Gain (Loss) |
| 2021 |
| 2020 |
| 2021 |
| 2020 | |||||
Derivatives not designated as hedging instruments |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |||||
Fuel contracts | Other income (expense), net | $ | | $ | ( | $ | | $ | |
Long-Term Debt
As of September 30, 2021 and December 31, 2020, the fair value of our long-term debt, including the current portion, was $
24
measurement dates as well as the beneficial conversion feature recognized on the Private Exchangeable Notes as of December 31, 2020. The fair value of our long-term revolving and term loan facilities was calculated based on estimated rates for the same or similar instruments with similar terms and remaining maturities. The fair value of our exchangeable notes considers observable risk-free rates; credit spreads of the same or similar instruments; and share prices, tenors, and historical and implied volatilities which are sourced from observable market data. The inputs are considered to be Level 2 in the fair value hierarchy. Market risk associated with our long-term variable rate debt is the potential increase in interest expense from an increase in interest rates or from an increase in share values.
Other
The carrying amounts reported in the consolidated balance sheets of all other financial assets and liabilities approximate fair value.
9. Employee Benefits and Compensation Plans
In January 2013, NCLH adopted the 2013 Performance Incentive Plan, which provided for the issuance of up to
Share Option Awards
The following is a summary of option activity under NCLH’s Restated 2013 Plan for the nine months ended September 30, 2021:
Weighted- | ||||||||||||||||||||
Number of Share Option Awards | Weighted-Average Exercise Price | Average | Aggregate | |||||||||||||||||
Time- | Performance- | Market- | Time- | Performance- | Market- | Contractual | Intrinsic | |||||||||||||
Based | Based | Based | Based | Based | Based | Term | Value | |||||||||||||
| Awards |
| Awards |
| Awards |
| Awards |
| Awards |
| Awards |
| (years) |
| (in thousands) | |||||
Outstanding as of January 1, 2021 |
| | |
| | $ | | $ | | $ | |
| $ | — | ||||||
Forfeited and cancelled |
| ( | — |
| | | — | |
|
| ||||||||||
Outstanding as of September 30, 2021 |
| | |
| | | | | — |
Restricted Share Unit Awards
In June 2021, NCLH granted
The following is a summary of restricted share unit activity for the nine months ended September 30, 2021:
Number of | Weighted- | Number of | Weighted- | Number of | Weighted- | ||||||||||
Time-Based | Average Grant | Performance- | Average Grant | Market- | Average Grant | ||||||||||
| Awards |
| Date Fair Value |
| Based Awards |
| Date Fair Value |
| Based Awards |
| Date Fair Value | ||||
Non-vested as of January 1, 2021 |
| | $ | |
| | $ | |
| | $ | | |||
Granted |
| | | | |
| | | |||||||
Vested |
| ( | | ( | |
| | | |||||||
Forfeited or expired |
| ( | | — | — |
| | | |||||||
Non-vested as of September 30, 2021 |
| | |
| | |
| | |
25
The compensation expense recognized for share-based compensation for the periods presented include the following (in thousands):
Three Months Ended | Nine Months Ended | |||||||||||
September 30, | September 30, | |||||||||||
| 2021 |
| 2020 |
| 2021 |
| 2020 | |||||
Payroll and related expense | $ | | $ | | $ | | $ | | ||||
Marketing, general and administrative expense |
| |
| |
| |
| | ||||
Total share-based compensation expense | $ | | $ | | $ | | $ | |
10. Commitments and Contingencies
Ship Construction Contracts
Project Leonardo will introduce an additional
The combined contract prices of the
Litigation
Class Actions
On March 12, 2020, a class action complaint, Eric Douglas v. Norwegian Cruise Lines, Frank J. Del Rio and Mark A. Kempa, Case No. 1:20-CV-21107, was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, naming the Company, Frank J. Del Rio, the Company’s President and Chief Executive Officer, and Mark A. Kempa, the Company’s Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, as defendants. Subsequently,
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Investigations
In March 2020, the Florida Attorney General announced an investigation related to the Company’s marketing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Following the announcement of the investigation by the Florida Attorney General, we received notifications from other attorneys general and governmental agencies that they are conducting similar investigations. The Company is cooperating with these ongoing investigations, the outcomes of which cannot be predicted at this time.
Helms-Burton Act
On August 27, 2019,
Other
In the normal course of our business, various other claims and lawsuits have been filed or are pending against us. Most of these claims and lawsuits are covered by insurance and, accordingly, the maximum amount of our liability is typically limited to our deductible amount.
Nonetheless, the ultimate outcome of these claims and lawsuits that are not covered by insurance cannot be determined at this time. We have evaluated our overall exposure with respect to all of our threatened and pending litigation and, to the extent required, we have accrued amounts for all estimable probable losses associated with our deemed exposure. We are currently unable to estimate any other potential contingent losses beyond those accrued, as discovery is not complete nor is adequate information available to estimate such range of loss or potential recovery. However, based on our current knowledge, we do not believe that the aggregate amount or range of reasonably possible losses with respect to these matters will be material to our consolidated results of operations, financial condition or cash flows. We intend to vigorously defend our legal position on all claims and, to the extent necessary, seek recovery.
Other Contingencies
The Company also has agreements with its credit card processors that govern approximately $
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required to pledge additional collateral and/or post additional cash reserves or take other actions that may further reduce our liquidity.
11. Other Income (Expense), Net
For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021, other income (expense), net consisted of income of $
12. Supplemental Cash Flow Information
For the nine months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020, we had non-cash investing activities consisting of changes in accruals related to property and equipment of $
13. Related Party Disclosures
NCLC, as issuer, NCLH, as guarantor, and U.S. Bank National Association, as trustee, were all parties to an indenture, dated May 28, 2020 (the “Indenture”) related to the Private Exchangeable Notes, which were held by the Private Investor. The terms of the Private Exchangeable Notes are more fully described under Note 7 — “Long-Term Debt”. Based on the initial exchange rate for the Private Exchangeable Notes, the Private Investor beneficially owned approximately
NCLH, NCLC and the Private Investor also entered into an investor rights agreement, dated May 28, 2020 (the “Investor Rights Agreement”), which provided that, among other things, the Private Investor was entitled to nominate one person for appointment to the board of directors of NCLH until the first date on which the Private Investor no longer beneficially owned in the aggregate at least
The Investor Rights Agreement also provided for customary registration rights for the Private Investor and its affiliates, including demand and piggyback registration rights, contained customary transfer restrictions and provided that the Private Investor and its affiliates were subject to a voting agreement with respect to certain matters during a specified period of time.
In a privately negotiated transaction among NCLH, NCLC and the Private Investor, NCLC agreed to repurchase all of the outstanding Private Exchangeable Notes for an aggregate repurchase price of approximately $
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Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
Some of the statements, estimates or projections contained in this report are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the U.S. federal securities laws intended to qualify for the safe harbor from liability established by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained, or incorporated by reference, in this report, including, without limitation, those regarding our business strategy, financial position, results of operations, plans, prospects, actions taken or strategies being considered with respect to our liquidity position, valuation and appraisals of our assets and objectives of management for future operations (including those regarding expected fleet additions, our suspension of certain cruise voyages, our ability to weather the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, our expectations regarding the resumption of cruise voyages and the timing for such resumption of cruise voyages, the implementation of and effectiveness of our health and safety protocols, operational position, demand for voyages, plans or goals for our sustainability program and decarbonization efforts, our expectations for future cash flows and profitability, financing opportunities and extensions, and future cost mitigation and cash conservation efforts and efforts to reduce operating expenses and capital expenditures) are forward-looking statements. Many, but not all, of these statements can be found by looking for words like “expect,” “anticipate,” “goal,” “project,” “plan,” “believe,” “seek,” “will,” “may,” “forecast,” “estimate,” “intend,” “future” and similar words. Forward-looking statements do not guarantee future performance and may involve risks, uncertainties and other factors which could cause our actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from the future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied in those forward-looking statements. Examples of these risks, uncertainties and other factors include, but are not limited to the impact of:
● | the spread of epidemics, pandemics and viral outbreaks and specifically, the COVID-19 pandemic, including its effect on the ability or desire of people to travel (including on cruises), which are expected to continue to adversely impact our results, operations, outlook, plans, goals, growth, reputation, cash flows, liquidity, demand for voyages and share price; |
● | our ability to comply with the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (“CDC”) Conditional Order and any additional or future regulatory restrictions on our operations and to otherwise develop enhanced health and safety protocols to adapt to the pandemic’s unique challenges; |
● | legislation prohibiting companies from verifying vaccination status; |
● | coordination and cooperation with the CDC, the federal government and global public health authorities to take precautions to protect the health, safety and security of guests, crew and the communities visited and the implementation of any such precautions; |
● | our ability to work with lenders and others or otherwise pursue options to defer, renegotiate, refinance or restructure our existing debt profile, near-term debt amortization, newbuild related payments and other obligations and to work with credit card processors to satisfy current or potential future demands for collateral on cash advanced from customers relating to future cruises; |
● | our need for additional financing or financing to optimize our balance sheet, which may not be available on favorable terms, or at all, and may be dilutive to existing shareholders; |
● | our indebtedness and restrictions in the agreements governing our indebtedness that require us to maintain minimum levels of liquidity and otherwise limit our flexibility in operating our business, including the significant portion of assets that are collateral under these agreements; |
● | the accuracy of any appraisals of our assets as a result of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic or otherwise; |
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● | our success in controlling operating expenses and capital expenditures; |
● | our guests’ election to take cash refunds in lieu of future cruise credits or the continuation of any trends relating to such election; |
● | trends in, or changes to, future bookings and our ability to take future reservations and receive deposits related thereto; |
● | the unavailability of ports of call; |
● | future increases in the price of, or major changes or reduction in, commercial airline services; |
● | adverse events impacting the security of travel, such as terrorist acts, armed conflict and threats thereof, acts of piracy, and other international events; |
● | adverse incidents involving cruise ships; |
● | adverse general economic and related factors, such as fluctuating or increasing levels of unemployment, underemployment and the volatility of fuel prices, declines in the securities and real estate markets, and perceptions of these conditions that decrease the level of disposable income of consumers or consumer confidence; |
● | any further impairment of our trademarks, trade names or goodwill; |
● | breaches in data security or other disturbances to our information technology and other networks or our actual or perceived failure to comply with requirements regarding data privacy and protection; |
● | changes in fuel prices and the type of fuel we are permitted to use and/or other cruise operating costs; |
● | mechanical malfunctions and repairs, delays in our shipbuilding program, maintenance and refurbishments and the consolidation of qualified shipyard facilities; |
● | the risks and increased costs associated with operating internationally; |
● | fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; |
● | overcapacity in key markets or globally; |
● | our expansion into and investments in new markets; |
● | our inability to obtain adequate insurance coverage; |
● | pending or threatened litigation, investigations and enforcement actions; |
● | volatility and disruptions in the global credit and financial markets, which may adversely affect our ability to borrow and could increase our counterparty credit risks, including those under our credit facilities, derivatives, contingent obligations, insurance contracts and new ship progress payment guarantees; |
● | our inability to recruit or retain qualified personnel or the loss of key personnel or employee relations issues; |
● | our reliance on third parties to provide hotel management services for certain ships and certain other services; |
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● | our inability to keep pace with developments in technology; |
● | changes involving the tax and environmental regulatory regimes in which we operate; and |
● | other factors set forth under “Risk Factors” herein and in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, filed with the SEC on February 26, 2021 (“Annual Report on Form 10-K”). |
Additionally, many of these risks and uncertainties are currently amplified by and will continue to be amplified by, or in the future may be amplified by, the COVID-19 pandemic. It is not possible to predict or identify all such risks. There may be additional risks that we consider immaterial or which are unknown.
In addition, some of our executive officers and directors have not sold their shares in us since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic as a gesture of support for our Company as they navigated us through unprecedented challenges. Now that we have resumed operations, we anticipate that our executive officers and directors may sell shares under Rule 10b5-1 plans beginning in the first quarter of 2022 as part of their ordinary course financial planning.
The above examples are not exhaustive and new risks emerge from time to time. Such forward-looking statements are based on our current beliefs, assumptions, expectations, estimates and projections regarding our present and future business strategies and the environment in which we expect to operate in the future. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date made. We expressly disclaim any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statement to reflect any change in our expectations with regard thereto or any change of events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement was based, except as required by law.
Terminology
This report includes certain non-GAAP financial measures, such as Net Cruise Cost, Adjusted Net Cruise Cost Excluding Fuel, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted Net Loss and Adjusted EPS. Definitions of these non- GAAP financial measures are included below. For further information about our non-GAAP financial measures including detailed adjustments made in calculation our non-GAAP financial measures and a reconciliation to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure, we refer you to “Results of Operations” below.
Unless otherwise indicated in this report, the following terms have the meanings set forth below:
● | Acquisition of Prestige. In November 2014, we acquired Prestige in a cash and stock transaction for total consideration of $3.025 billion, including the assumption of debt. |
● | Adjusted EBITDA. EBITDA adjusted for other income (expense), net and other supplemental adjustments. |
● | Adjusted EPS. Adjusted Net Loss divided by the number of diluted weighted-average shares outstanding. |
● | Adjusted Net Cruise Cost Excluding Fuel. Net Cruise Cost Excluding Fuel adjusted for supplemental adjustments. |
● | Adjusted Net Loss. Net loss adjusted for supplemental adjustments. |
● | Allura Class Ships. Oceania Cruises’ two ships on order. |
● | Berths. Double occupancy capacity per cabin (single occupancy per studio cabin) even though many cabins can accommodate three or more passengers. |
● | Capacity Days. Berths available for sale multiplied by the number of cruise days for the period for ships in service. |
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● | CDC. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. |
● | Conditional Order. The CDC’s Framework for Conditional Sailing Order issued on October 30, 2020 that introduced a phased approach for the resumption of passenger cruises. These phases include: a) the establishment of laboratory testing of crew onboard cruise ships in U.S. waters; b) simulated voyages designed to test a cruise ship operator’s ability to mitigate COVID-19 on cruise ships; c) a certification process; and d) a return to passenger voyages in a manner that mitigates the risk of COVID-19 introduction, transmission or spread among passenger and crew onboard ships and ashore to communities. The Conditional Order replaced the CDC’s previously issued No Sail Order that expired on October 31, 2020 and remained in effect until November 1, 2021. The CDC adopted a Temporary Extension and Modification of the Framework for Conditional Sailing Order (the “Temporary Extension”) that became effective on November 1, 2021 and will remain in effect until the earlier of a) the expiration of the Secretary of Health and Human Services’ declaration that COVID-19 constitutes a public health emergency, b) the CDC Director’s rescission or modification of the Temporary Extension based on specific public health or other considerations, or c) January 15, 2022 at which point it will revert to a voluntary program. Effective as of July 23, 2021, for cruise ships arriving in, within, or departing from a port in Florida, the Conditional Order only persists as a non-binding recommendation. |
● | Constant Currency. A calculation whereby foreign currency-denominated revenue and expenses in a period are converted at the U.S. dollar exchange rate of a comparable period to eliminate the effects of foreign exchange fluctuations. |
● | Dry-dock. A process whereby a ship is positioned in a large basin where all of the fresh/sea water is pumped out in order to carry out cleaning and repairs of those parts of a ship which are below the water line. |
● | EBITDA. Earnings before interest, taxes, and depreciation and amortization. |
● | EPS. Loss per share. |
● | Explorer Class Ships. Regent’s Seven Seas Explorer, Seven Seas Splendor, and Seven Seas Grandeur. |
● | GAAP. Generally accepted accounting principles in the U.S. |
● | Gross Cruise Cost. The sum of total cruise operating expense and marketing, general and administrative expense. |
● | Gross Tons. A unit of enclosed passenger space on a cruise ship, such that one gross ton equals 100 cubic feet or 2.831 cubic meters. |
● | Jewel Credit Facility. The Credit Agreement, dated as of May 15, 2019 (as amended by Amendment No. 1 to the Credit Agreement, dated as of May 1, 2020, and as further amended by Amendment No. 2 to the Credit Agreement dated as of January 29, 2021), among NCLC, as borrower, the lenders party thereto, Bank of America, N.A., as administrative agent and collateral agent, Bank of America, N.A., Truist Bank (formerly known as Branch Banking and Trust Company), Fifth Third Bank and Mizuho Bank, Ltd., as joint bookrunners and arrangers, and Bank of America, N.A., Truist Bank (formerly known as Branch Banking and Trust Company), Fifth Third Bank and Mizuho Bank, Ltd., as co-documentation agents, providing for a $260.0 million senior secured credit facility. |
● | Net Cruise Cost. Gross Cruise Cost less commissions, transportation and other expense and onboard and other expense. |
● | Net Cruise Cost Excluding Fuel. Net Cruise Cost less fuel expense. |
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● | Occupancy Percentage. The ratio of Passenger Cruise Days to Capacity Days. A percentage greater than 100% indicates that three or more passengers occupied some cabins. |
● | Passenger Cruise Days. The number of passengers carried for the period, multiplied by the number of days in their respective cruises. |
● | Pride of America Credit Facility. The Credit Agreement, dated as of January 10, 2019 (as amended by Amendment No. 1 to the Credit Agreement, dated as of April 28, 2020, and as further amended by Amendment No. 2 to the Credit Agreement, dated as of January 29, 2021), among NCLC, as borrower, the lenders party thereto, Nordea Bank Abp, New York Branch, as administrative agent and collateral agent, and Nordea Bank Abp, New York Branch, Mizuho Bank, Ltd., MUFG Bank, Ltd., and Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB (Publ), as joint bookrunners, arrangers and co-documentation agents, providing for a $230.0 million senior secured credit facility. |
● | Project Leonardo. The next generation of ships for our Norwegian brand. |
● | Revolving Loan Facility. $875.0 million senior secured revolving credit facility. |
● | SEC. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. |
● | Senior Secured Credit Facility. The Credit Agreement, originally dated as of May 24, 2013, as amended and restated on October 31, 2014, June 6, 2016, October 10, 2017, January 2, 2019 and May 8, 2020, and as further amended on January 29, 2021 and March 25, 2021, by and among NCLC and Voyager Vessel Company, LLC, as co-borrowers, JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., as administrative agent and as collateral agent, and various lenders and agents, providing for a senior secured credit facility consisting of (i) the Revolving Loan Facility and (ii) the Term Loan A Facility. |
● | Shipboard Retirement Plan. An unfunded defined benefit pension plan for certain crew members which computes benefits based on years of service, subject to certain requirements. |
● | Term Loan A Facility. The senior secured term loan A facility having an outstanding principal amount of approximately $1.5 billion as of September 30, 2021. |
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
We use certain non-GAAP financial measures, such as Net Cruise Cost, Adjusted Net Cruise Cost Excluding Fuel, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted Net Loss and Adjusted EPS, to enable us to analyze our performance. See “Terminology” for the definitions of these and other non-GAAP financial measures. We utilize Net Cruise Cost and Adjusted Net Cruise Cost Excluding Fuel to manage our business on a day-to-day basis. In measuring our ability to control costs in a manner that positively impacts net income (loss), we believe changes in Net Cruise Cost and Adjusted Net Cruise Cost Excluding Fuel to be the most relevant indicators of our performance. As a result of our voluntary suspension of sailings from March 2020 until July 2021, we did not have any Capacity Days during the suspension period. Accordingly, we have not presented herein per Capacity Day data for the three or nine months ended September 30, 2021 or September 30, 2020.
As our business includes the sourcing of passengers and deployment of vessels outside of the U.S., a portion of our revenue and expenses are denominated in foreign currencies, particularly British pound, Canadian dollar, Euro and Australian dollar which are subject to fluctuations in currency exchange rates versus our reporting currency, the U.S. dollar. In order to monitor results excluding these fluctuations, we calculate certain non-GAAP measures on a Constant Currency basis, whereby current period revenue and expenses denominated in foreign currencies are converted to U.S. dollars using currency exchange rates of the comparable period. We believe that presenting these non-GAAP measures on both a reported and Constant Currency basis is useful in providing a more comprehensive view of trends in our business.
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We believe that Adjusted EBITDA is appropriate as a supplemental financial measure as it is used by management to assess operating performance. We also believe that Adjusted EBITDA is a useful measure in determining our performance as it reflects certain operating drivers of our business, such as sales growth, operating costs, marketing, general and administrative expense and other operating income and expense. Adjusted EBITDA is not a defined term under GAAP nor is it intended to be a measure of liquidity or cash flows from operations or a measure comparable to net income (loss), as it does not take into account certain requirements such as capital expenditures and related depreciation, principal and interest payments and tax payments and it includes other supplemental adjustments.
In addition, Adjusted Net Loss and Adjusted EPS are non-GAAP financial measures that exclude certain amounts and are used to supplement GAAP net loss and EPS. We use Adjusted Net Loss and Adjusted EPS as key performance measures of our earnings performance. We believe that both management and investors benefit from referring to these non-GAAP financial measures in assessing our performance and when planning, forecasting and analyzing future periods. These non-GAAP financial measures also facilitate management’s internal comparison to our historical performance. In addition, management uses Adjusted EPS as a performance measure for our incentive compensation. The amounts excluded in the presentation of these non-GAAP financial measures may vary from period to period; accordingly, our presentation of Adjusted Net Loss and Adjusted EPS may not be indicative of future adjustments or results. For example, for the nine months ended September 30, 2020, we incurred $1.6 billion related to impairment losses. We included this as an adjustment in the reconciliation of Adjusted Net Loss since the expenses are not representative of our day-to-day operations; however, this adjustment did not occur and is not included in the comparative period presented within this Form 10-Q.
You are encouraged to evaluate each adjustment used in calculating our non-GAAP financial measures and the reasons we consider our non-GAAP financial measures appropriate for supplemental analysis. In evaluating our non-GAAP financial measures, you should be aware that in the future we may incur expenses similar to the adjustments in our presentation. Our non-GAAP financial measures have limitations as analytical tools, and you should not consider these measures in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of our results as reported under GAAP. Our presentation of our non-GAAP financial measures should not be construed as an inference that our future results will be unaffected by unusual or non-recurring items. Our non-GAAP financial measures may not be comparable to other companies. Please see a historical reconciliation of these measures to the most comparable GAAP measure presented in our consolidated financial statements below in the “Results of Operations” section.
Financial Presentation
We categorize revenue from our cruise and cruise-related activities as either “passenger ticket” revenue or “onboard and other” revenue. Passenger ticket revenue and onboard and other revenue vary according to product offering, the size of the ship in operation, the length of cruises operated and the markets in which the ship operates. Our revenue is seasonal based on demand for cruises, which has historically been strongest during the Northern Hemisphere’s summer months; however, our cruise voyages were completely suspended from March 2020 until July 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and our resumption of cruise voyages will be phased in gradually as described under “—Update Regarding COVID-19 Pandemic” below. Passenger ticket revenue primarily consists of revenue for accommodations, meals in certain restaurants on the ship, certain onboard entertainment, and includes revenue for service charges and air and land transportation to and from the ship to the extent guests purchase these items from us. Onboard and other revenue primarily consists of revenue from gaming, beverage sales, shore excursions, specialty dining, retail sales, spa services and photo services. Our onboard revenue is derived from onboard activities we perform directly or that are performed by independent concessionaires, from which we receive a share of their revenue.
Our cruise operating expense is classified as follows:
● | Commissions, transportation and other primarily consists of direct costs associated with passenger ticket revenue. These costs include travel agent commissions, air and land transportation expenses, related credit card fees, certain port expenses and the costs associated with shore excursions and hotel accommodations included as part of the overall cruise purchase price. |
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● | Onboard and other primarily consists of direct costs incurred in connection with onboard and other revenue, including casino, beverage sales and shore excursions. |
● | Payroll and related consists of the cost of wages and benefits for shipboard employees and costs of certain inventory items, including food, for a third party that provides crew and other hotel services for certain ships. The cost of crew repatriation, including charters, housing, testing and other costs related to COVID-19 are also included. |
● | Fuel includes fuel costs, the impact of certain fuel hedges and fuel delivery costs. |
● | Food consists of food costs for passengers and crew on certain ships. |
● | Other consists of repairs and maintenance (including Dry-dock costs), ship insurance and other ship expenses. |
Critical Accounting Policies
For a discussion of our critical accounting policies and estimates, see “Critical Accounting Policies” included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K under the caption “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.” We have made no significant changes to our critical accounting policies and estimates from those described in our Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Update Regarding COVID-19 Pandemic
Suspension of Cruise Voyages
Due to the impact of COVID-19, travel restrictions and limited access to ports around the world, in March 2020, the Company implemented a voluntary suspension of all cruise voyages across our three brands. As of the date hereof, 11 of our ships were operating with guests on board as part of our phased return to service. The Company continues to execute on the phased relaunch plans for its 28-ship fleet. The Company expects to have approximately 75% of capacity operating by December 31, 2021 with the full fleet expected to be back in operation by April 1, 2022. Certain sailings have been or may be cancelled in conjunction with the new voyage resumption plans for each vessel. As a result of the unprecedented circumstances caused by the pandemic, we are not able to predict the full impact of the pandemic on our Company. Refer to “Item 1A. Risk Factors” for further details regarding the significant impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had, and is expected to continue to have, on our financial condition and operations.
Preparation for the Safe Resumption of Operations
We have developed SailSAFETM, a comprehensive and multi-faceted health and safety strategy to enhance our already rigorous protocols and address the unique public health challenges posed by COVID-19. In July 2020, we announced a collaboration with Royal Caribbean Group to form a group of experts called the “Healthy Sail Panel” to guide the industry in the development of new and enhanced cruise health and safety standards. The panel is co-chaired by Dr. Scott Gottlieb, former commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and Governor Mike Leavitt, former Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and consists of globally recognized experts from various disciplines, including public health, infectious disease, biosecurity, hospitality and maritime operations. On September 21, 2020, the expert panel published a report, which included detailed best practices across five key areas of focus to protect the public health and safety of guests, crew and the communities where our cruise ships visit. The panel also submitted its recommendations to the CDC, in response to a CDC request for public comment to inform future public health guidance and preventative measures relating to travel on cruise ships. The panel’s recommendations have informed new detailed health and safety protocols for our return-to-service plan.
The Company also further extended its depth and breadth of experts with the formation of its SailSAFE Global Health and Wellness Council, comprised of four experts at the forefront of their fields and led by Chairman Dr. Scott Gottlieb. The Council’s work complements the Healthy Sail Panel initiative and focuses on the implementation, compliance with and continuous improvement of health and safety protocols across the Company’s operations. The Company continues
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to work with its expert advisors, the Healthy Sail Panel, and global public health authorities and government agencies to refine its comprehensive and multi-layered health and safety strategy to enhance its already rigorous health and safety standards in response to COVID-19.
Pursuant to the Conditional Order, the CDC has issued and may continue to issue additional requirements through technical instructions or orders as needed and the phases of the Conditional Order may be subject to change based on public health considerations, including the trajectory of the pandemic and the ability of cruise ship operators to successfully employ measures that mitigate the risk of COVID-19. We have received conditional sailing certificates for certain ships and are in the process of seeking certifications for additional ships in our fleet that will be operating out of the U.S. Additionally, in the U.S., certain states have enacted legislation prohibiting companies from verifying the vaccination status of guests. We challenged such a prohibition in Florida in court and received a preliminary injunction allowing us to operate as planned. As a result of these and other regulatory requirements and other logistical challenges, the timeline for our ability to return our entire fleet to cruises both in and outside of the U.S. is fluid. Nevertheless, we continue to work with other federal agencies, public health authorities and national and local governments in areas where we operate to take all necessary measures to protect our guests, crew and the communities visited as we begin to resume operations.
We began a phased relaunch of cruise voyages in July 2021. Initially each ship is expected to operate at reduced occupancy, which will gradually increase over time. Based on the current conditions, we are planning for all ships to sail at full capacity by June 30, 2022. We plan to continue gradually launching ships from each brand through April 1, 2022. Refer to “Item 1A. Risk Factors” for further details regarding the uncertainties of returning to sailing at full fleet capacity.
Modified Policies
Our brands have launched new cancellation policies for certain sailings booked during certain time periods to permit our guests to cancel cruises which were not part of our temporary suspension of voyages up to 15 days prior to embarkation and receive a refund in the form of a credit to be applied toward a future cruise. These programs were in place for cruises booked through specific time periods specified by brand, and for cruises scheduled to embark through October 31, 2021. Certain cruises booked for certain periods, will be permitted a 60-day cancellation window for refunds. The future cruise credits issued under these programs are valid for any sailing through December 31, 2022, and we may extend the length of time these future cruise credits may be redeemed. The use of such credits may prevent us from garnering certain future cash collections as staterooms booked by guests with such credits will not be available for sale, resulting in less cash collected from bookings to new guests. We may incur incremental commission expense for the use of these future cruise credits. In addition, to provide more flexibility to our guests, we have also extended our modified final payment schedule for all voyages on Regent Seven Seas Cruises through September 30, 2021, on Oceania Cruises through October 31, 2021 and for specified future voyages, and for the majority of voyages on Norwegian Cruise Line through April 30, 2022, which now requires payment 60 days prior to embarkation versus the standard 120 days. Our brands currently expect to provide cash refunds for cash bookings for future sailings we may cancel.
Update on Bookings
Net booking volumes in the third quarter of 2021 were negatively impacted by the Delta variant of COVID-19. The resulting slowdown in net booking volumes was heavily weighted to sailings in the fourth quarter of 2021 and early 2022 and improved sequentially through 2022. The impact has since abated and net bookings have materially improved over the past several weeks with particular strength for bookings related to sailings in the second half of 2022 and into 2023. Despite the temporary Delta impact, the Company’s overall cumulative booked position for full year 2022 is in line with 2019’s record levels at higher pricing even when including the dilutive impact of future cruise credits. The overall cumulative booked position for the second half of 2022, when the full fleet is expected to be back in operation and at normalized occupancy levels, is meaningfully higher than 2019 and at higher prices. Our full fleet may not resume operations on our expected schedule and as a result, current booking data may not be informative. In addition, because of our updated cancellation policies, bookings may not be representative of actual cruise revenues.
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There are remaining uncertainties about when our full fleet will be back in service at historical occupancy levels and, accordingly, we cannot estimate the impact on our business, financial condition or near- or longer-term financial or operational results with certainty; however, we will report a net loss for the three months and year ending December 31, 2021 and expect to report a net loss until we are able to resume regular voyages. Refer to “Item 1A. Risk Factors” for further details regarding the significant impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had, and is expected to continue to have, on our financial condition and operations.
Financing Transactions and Cost Containment Measures
In 2021, we have continued to take actions to bolster our financial condition while our global cruise voyages are disrupted. In March 2021, we received additional financing through various debt financings and an equity offering, collectively totaling $2.7 billion in gross proceeds. From the proceeds, approximately $1.5 billion was used to extinguish debt. In November 2021, the Company executed a $1 billion commitment through August 15, 2022 that provides additional liquidity to the Company. Refer to Note 7 – “Long-Term Debt” for further details about the above transactions.
We undertook several proactive cost reduction and cash conservation measures to mitigate the financial and operational impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the reduction of capital expenditures and deferral of debt amortization as well as a reduction in operating expenses, including ship operating expenses and selling, general and administrative expenses. Cost savings initiatives to reduce selling, general and administrative expenses, which had already been implemented at the beginning of 2021, included the significant reduction or deferral of marketing expenditures, the implementation of hiring freezes, a 20% salary or hours reduction for certain shoreside team members, a pause in our 401(k) matching contributions, corporate travel freezes for shoreside employees, and employee furloughs. These cost savings initiatives have now been discontinued as we continue our resumption of cruise voyages.
See “—Liquidity and Capital Resources” below for more information.
Quarterly Overview
Three months ended September 30, 2021 (“2021”) compared to three months ended September 30, 2020 (“2020”)
● | Total revenue increased to $153.1 million compared to $6.5 million. |
● | Net loss and diluted EPS were $(845.9) million and $(2.29), respectively, compared to $(677.4) million and $(2.50), respectively. |
● | Operating loss was $(689.1) million compared to $(517.8) million. |
● | Adjusted Net Loss and Adjusted EPS were $(801.4) million and $(2.17), respectively, in 2021, which included $44.5 million of adjustments primarily related to non-cash compensation. Adjusted Net Loss and Adjusted EPS were $(638.7) million and $(2.35), respectively, in 2020, which included $38.6 million of adjustments primarily consisting of non-cash compensation and losses on extinguishment and modifications of debt. |
● | Adjusted EBITDA decreased 51.4% to $(475.0) million compared to $(313.8) million. |
We refer you to our “Results of Operations” below for a calculation of Adjusted Net Loss, Adjusted EPS and Adjusted EBITDA.
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Results of Operations
The following table sets forth selected statistical information:
Three Months Ended | Nine Months Ended | ||||||||
September 30, | September 30, | ||||||||
| 2021 |
| 2020 |
| 2021 |
| 2020 | ||
Passengers carried |
| 57,931 |
| — |
| 57,931 |
| 499,729 | |
Passenger Cruise Days |
| 402,656 |
| — |
| 402,656 |
| 4,278,602 | |
Capacity Days |
| 701,350 |
| — |
| 701,350 |
| 4,123,858 | |
Occupancy Percentage |
| 57.4 | % | 57.4 | % | 103.8 | % |
Gross Cruise Cost, Net Cruise Cost, Net Cruise Cost Excluding Fuel and Adjusted Net Cruise Cost Excluding Fuel were calculated as follows (in thousands):
Three Months Ended | Nine Months Ended | |||||||||||||||||
September 30, | September 30, | |||||||||||||||||
| 2021 |
| 2021 | |||||||||||||||
|
| Constant |
|
|
| Constant |
| |||||||||||
2021 |
| Currency | 2020 | 2021 |
| Currency | 2020 | |||||||||||
Total cruise operating expense | $ | 439,756 | $ | 437,453 | $ | 190,157 | $ | 890,338 | $ | 883,944 | $ | 1,486,069 | ||||||
Marketing, general and administrative expense |
| 229,142 |
| 228,905 |
| 156,656 |
| 617,820 |
| 614,231 |
| 558,781 | ||||||
Gross Cruise Cost |
| 668,898 |
| 666,358 |
| 346,813 |
| 1,508,158 |
| 1,498,175 |
| 2,044,850 | ||||||
Less: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| ||||||
Commissions, transportation and other expense |
| 32,338 |
| 32,304 |
| 4,038 |
| 47,935 |
| 47,659 |
| 371,007 | ||||||
Onboard and other expense |
| 19,306 |
| 19,306 |
| 4,728 |
| 21,841 |
| 21,841 |
| 82,889 | ||||||
Net Cruise Cost |
| 617,254 |
| 614,748 |
| 338,047 |
| 1,438,382 |
| 1,428,675 |
| 1,590,954 | ||||||
Less: Fuel expense |
| 79,238 |
| 79,238 |
| 48,224 |
| 175,931 |
| 175,931 |
| 222,240 | ||||||
Net Cruise Cost Excluding Fuel |
| 538,016 |
| 535,510 |
| 289,823 |
| 1,262,451 |
| 1,252,744 |
| 1,368,714 | ||||||
Less Non-GAAP Adjustments: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| ||||||
Non-cash deferred compensation (1) |
| 904 |
| 904 |
| 667 |
| 2,714 |
| 2,714 |
| 1,999 | ||||||
Non-cash share-based compensation (2) |
| 39,922 |
| 39,922 |
| 25,862 |
| 88,974 |
| 88,974 |
| 81,009 | ||||||
Adjusted Net Cruise Cost Excluding Fuel | $ | 497,190 | $ | 494,684 | $ | 263,294 | $ | 1,170,763 | $ | 1,161,056 | $ | 1,285,706 |
(1) | Non-cash deferred compensation expenses related to the crew pension plan and other crew expenses, which are included in payroll and related expense. |
(2) | Non-cash share-based compensation expenses related to equity awards, which are included in marketing, general and administrative expense and payroll and related expense. |
38
Adjusted Net Loss and Adjusted EPS were calculated as follows (in thousands, except share and per share data):
Three Months Ended | Nine Months Ended | |||||||||||
September 30, | September 30, | |||||||||||
| 2021 |
| 2020 |
| 2021 |
| 2020 | |||||
Net loss | $ | (845,885) | $ | (677,366) | $ | (2,933,866) | $ | (3,273,581) | ||||
Non-GAAP Adjustments: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| ||||
Non-cash deferred compensation (1) |
| 1,002 |
| 992 |
| 3,009 |
| 2,975 | ||||
Non-cash share-based compensation (2) |
| 39,922 |
| 25,862 |
| 88,974 |
| 81,009 | ||||
Extinguishment and modification of debt (3) |
| 3,562 |
| 6,636 |
| 657,226 |
| 27,795 | ||||
Amortization of intangible assets (4) |
| — |
| 2,774 |
| — |
| 8,321 | ||||
Impairment loss (5) |
| — |
| — |
| — |
| 1,633,337 | ||||
Non-cash interest on beneficial conversion feature (6) |
| — |
| 2,356 |
| — |
| 3,700 | ||||
Adjusted Net Loss | $ | (801,399) | $ | (638,746) | $ | (2,184,657) | $ | (1,516,444) | ||||
Diluted weighted-average shares outstanding - Net loss and Adjusted Net Loss |
| 370,016,479 | 271,435,350 |
| 356,591,143 |
| 241,578,995 | |||||
Diluted loss per share | $ | (2.29) | $ | (2.50) | $ | (8.23) | $ | (13.55) | ||||
Adjusted EPS | $ | (2.17) | $ | (2.35) | $ | (6.13) | $ | (6.28) |
(1) | Non-cash deferred compensation expenses related to the crew pension plan and other crew expenses, which are included in payroll and related expense and other income (expense), net. |
(2) | Non-cash share-based compensation expenses related to equity awards, which are included in marketing, general and administrative expense and payroll and related expense. |
(3) | Losses on extinguishment of debt and modification of debt are included in interest expense, net. |
(4) | Amortization of intangible assets related to the Acquisition of Prestige, which are included in depreciation and amortization expense. |
(5) | Impairment loss consists of goodwill, trade name and property and equipment impairments. The impairments of goodwill and trade names are included in impairment loss and the impairment of property and equipment is included in depreciation and amortization expense. |
(6) | Non-cash interest expense related to a beneficial conversion feature recognized on our exchangeable notes, which is recognized in interest expense, net. |
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EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA were calculated as follows (in thousands):
Three Months Ended | Nine Months Ended | |||||||||||
September 30, | September 30, | |||||||||||
| 2021 |
| 2020 |
| 2021 |
| 2020 | |||||
Net loss | $ | (845,885) | $ | (677,366) | $ | (2,933,866) | $ | (3,273,581) | ||||
Interest expense, net |
| 161,205 |
| 139,664 |
| 1,122,905 |
| 323,108 | ||||
Income tax (benefit) expense |
| 294 |
| (3,761) |
| 2,949 |
| (19,057) | ||||
Depreciation and amortization expense |
| 173,289 |
| 177,488 |
| 517,867 |
| 554,937 | ||||
EBITDA |
| (511,097) |
| (363,975) |
| (1,290,145) |
| (2,414,593) | ||||
Other (income) expense, net (1) |
| (4,720) | 23,680 |
| (57,464) |
| 32,275 | |||||
Other Non-GAAP Adjustments: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| ||||
Non-cash deferred compensation (2) |
| 904 |
| 667 |
| 2,714 |
| 1,999 | ||||
Non-cash share-based compensation (3) |
| 39,922 |
| 25,862 |
| 88,974 |
| 81,009 | ||||
Impairment loss (4) |
| — |
| — |
| — |
| 1,607,797 | ||||
Adjusted EBITDA | $ | (474,991) | $ | (313,766) | $ | (1,255,921) | $ | (691,513) |
(1) | Primarily consists of gains and losses, net for fuel swaps not designated as hedges or hedges released into earnings as a result of the forecasted transactions no longer being probable and foreign currency exchanges. |
(2) | Non-cash deferred compensation expenses related to the crew pension plan and other crew expenses, which are included in payroll and related expense. |
(3) | Non-cash share-based compensation expenses related to equity awards, which are included in marketing, general and administrative expense and payroll and related expense. |
(4) | Impairment loss consists of goodwill and trade name impairments. |
Three months ended September 30, 2021 (“2021”) compared to three months ended September 30, 2020 (“2020”)
Revenue
Total revenue increased to $153.1 million in 2021 compared to $6.5 million in 2020. Revenue in 2021 and 2020 has been adversely impacted due to the cancellation of sailings as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Revenue increased in 2021 as certain ships have returned to service.
Expense
Total cruise operating expense increased 131.3% in 2021 compared to 2020. In 2021, our cruise operating expenses increased primarily related to crew costs, including salaries, food and other travel costs as we began our return to service; fuel; ship maintenance, including Dry-dock expenses; and costs related to COVID-19, including crew and passenger testing. In 2020, our cruise operating expenses were primarily related to crew costs, including salaries, food and other repatriation costs; fuel; and other ongoing costs such as insurance and ship maintenance. Gross Cruise Cost increased 92.9% in 2021 compared to 2020 primarily related to the increase in costs described above and an increase in marketing, general and administrative expenses as we return to sailing. Total other operating expense increased 20.4% in 2021 compared to 2020 primarily due to the increase in marketing, general and administrative costs as a result of the discontinuation of cost savings initiatives described under “Update Regarding COVID-19 Pandemic—Financing Transactions and Cost Containment Measures” as we return to service.
Interest expense, net was $161.2 million in 2021 compared to $139.7 million in 2020. The increase in interest expense reflects additional debt outstanding at higher interest rates, partially offset by lower LIBOR.
Other income (expense), net was income of $4.7 million in 2021 compared to expense of $23.7 million in 2020. In 2021, the income primarily related to gains on fuel swaps not designated as hedges and foreign currency exchange. In 2020, the expense was primarily related to losses on foreign currency exchange and fuel hedges released into earnings as a result of the forecasted transactions no longer being probable.
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Nine months ended September 30, 2021 (“2021”) compared to nine months ended September 30, 2020 (“2020”)
Revenue
Total revenue decreased 87.4% to $160.5 million in 2021 compared to $1.3 billion in 2020. In 2021, the adverse impact on revenue was due to the cancellation of sailings as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and lower occupancy as we return to service. In 2020, voyages were cancelled beginning March 13, 2020.
Expense
Total cruise operating expense decreased 40.1% in 2021 compared to 2020. In 2021, our cruise operating expenses were primarily related to crew costs, including salaries, food and other travel costs; fuel; and other ongoing costs such as insurance and ship maintenance, including Dry-dock expenses. In 2020, our cruise operating expenses subsequent to the suspension of cruise voyages on March 13, 2020 primarily included the cost of protected commissions and crew costs, including salaries, food and other repatriation costs. Gross Cruise Cost decreased 26.2% in 2021 compared to 2020 primarily related to the change in costs described above offset by an increase in marketing, general and administrative expenses primarily related to the discontinuation of cost savings initiatives described under “Update Regarding COVID-19 Pandemic—Financing Transactions and Cost Containment Measures” as we return to service. Total other operating expense decreased 58.3% in 2021 compared to 2020 primarily due to the impairment of goodwill and trade names triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Depreciation and amortization expense decreased primarily due to a $25.5 million impairment loss recognized in 2020.
Interest expense, net was $1.1 billion in 2021 compared to $323.1 million in 2020. The increase in interest expense reflects losses on extinguishment of debt and debt modification costs of $657.2 million primarily related to the repurchase of the Private Exchangeable Notes as well as additional debt outstanding at higher interest rates, partially offset by lower LIBOR.
Other income (expense), net was income of $57.5 million in 2021 compared to expense of $32.3 million in 2020. In 2021, the income primarily related to gains on fuel swaps not designated as hedges and foreign currency exchange. In 2020, the expense was primarily related to losses on fuel hedges recognized in earnings as a result of the forecasted transactions no longer being probable and foreign currency exchange.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
General
As of September 30, 2021, our liquidity was $1.9 billion consisting of cash and cash equivalents.
In January 2021, we amended our Senior Secured Credit Facility to further defer certain amortization payments due prior to June 30, 2022 and to waive certain financial and other covenants through December 31, 2022. In connection with such amendment, our minimum liquidity requirement was increased to $200 million and such requirement applies through December 31, 2022.
In addition, in February 2021, we amended certain of our export-credit backed facilities to defer amortization payments aggregating approximately $680 million through March 31, 2022. We also amended all of our export-credit backed facilities to provide that, from the effective date of the amendments to and including December 31, 2022, certain of the financial covenants under such facilities will be suspended and the free liquidity test will be replaced by a covenant to maintain at least $200 million in free liquidity. The amendments also made certain other changes to the facilities, including imposing further restrictions on NCLC’s ability to incur debt, create security, issue equity and make dividends and other distributions.
In March 2021, the Company received additional financing through various debt financings and an equity offering, collectively totaling $2.7 billion in gross proceeds. The Pride of America Credit Facility and Jewel Credit Facility were extinguished from proceeds of the debt financings. We also extinguished the Private Exchangeable Notes in March
41
2021 by using approximately $1.0 billion of cash proceeds from an equity offering completed in March 2021 to repurchase the notes. See Note 7 – “Long-Term Debt” for further information.
In July 2021, we amended nine credit facilities for our newbuild agreements and increased the combined commitments under such credit facilities by approximately $770 million to cover owner’s supply (generally consists of provisions for the ship), modifications and financing premiums.
In November 2021, the Company executed a $1 billion commitment through August 15, 2022 that provides additional liquidity to the Company. Refer to Note 7 – “Long-Term Debt” for further information.
The Company's monthly average cash burn for the third quarter of 2021 was approximately $275 million, below prior guidance of approximately $285 million. Looking ahead, the Company expects fourth quarter of 2021 monthly average cash burn to increase to approximately $350 million driven by the continued phased relaunch of additional vessels. This cash burn rate does not include expected cash inflows from new and existing bookings or contribution from ships that have re-entered service.
Cash burn rates include ongoing ship operating expenses, administrative operating expenses, interest expense, taxes, debt deferral fees and expected non-newbuild capital expenditures and exclude cash refunds of customer deposits as well as cash inflows from new and existing bookings, newbuild related capital expenditures and other working capital changes. Future cash burn rate estimates also exclude unforeseen expenses. The third quarter of 2021 cash burn rate and fourth quarter estimate also reflect the deferral of debt amortization and newbuild related payments.
We continue to expect a gradual phased relaunch of our ships, with our ships initially operating at reduced occupancy levels as described in “Update Regarding COVID-19 Pandemic— Preparation for the Safe Resumption of Operations.” Refer to “Item 1A. Risk Factors” for further details regarding the significant impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had, and is expected to continue to have, on our financial condition and operations. The estimation of our future cash flow projections includes numerous assumptions that are subject to various risks and uncertainties. Refer to Note 2 – “Summary of Significant Accounting Policies” for further information on liquidity and management’s plan.
There can be no assurance that the accuracy of the assumptions used to estimate our liquidity requirements will be correct, and our ability to be predictive is uncertain due to the unknown magnitude and duration of the COVID-19 global pandemic. Based on the liquidity estimates and our current resources, we have concluded we have sufficient liquidity to satisfy our obligations for at least the next twelve months. Nonetheless, we anticipate that we will need additional equity and/or debt financing to fund our operations in the future if we are unable to resume our cruise voyages on the schedule expected, and particularly if a substantial portion of our fleet continues to have suspended cruise voyages or operate at significantly reduced occupancy levels for a prolonged period. We also expect to opportunistically pursue refinancings and other balance sheet optimization transactions from time to time, which could include equity, equity-linked or debt financings.
We have received certain financial and other debt covenant waivers through December 31, 2022 and added new free liquidity requirements. At September 30, 2021, taking into account such waivers, we were in compliance with all of our debt covenants. If we do not continue to remain in compliance with our covenants, we would have to seek to amend the covenants. However, no assurances can be made that such amendments would be approved by our lenders. Generally, if an event of default under any debt agreement occurs, then pursuant to cross default and/or cross acceleration clauses, substantially all of our outstanding debt and derivative contract payables could become due, and all debt and derivative contracts could be terminated, which would have a material adverse impact to our operations and liquidity.
Since March 2020, Moody’s has downgraded our long-term issuer rating to B2, our senior secured rating to B1 and our senior unsecured rating to Caa1. Since April 2020, S&P Global has downgraded our issuer credit rating to B, lowered our issue-level rating on our $875 million Revolving Loan Facility and $1.5 billion Term Loan A Facility to BB-, our issue-level rating on our $675 million 2024 Senior Secured Notes and $750 million 2026 Senior Secured Notes to B+ and our senior unsecured rating to B-. If our credit ratings were to be further downgraded, or general market conditions were to ascribe higher risk to our rating levels, our industry, or us, our access to capital and the cost of any debt or equity financing will be further negatively impacted. We also have significant capacity to incur additional indebtedness under
42
our debt agreements. On May 20, 2021, NCLH’s shareholders authorized a 490,000,000 increase in the number of ordinary shares available for issuance. However, there is no guarantee that debt or equity financings will be available in the future to fund our obligations, or that they will be available on terms consistent with our expectations.
As of September 30, 2021, we had advance ticket sales of $1.7 billion, including the long-term portion, which included approximately $0.75 billion of future cruise credits. We also have agreements with our credit card processors that, as of September 30, 2021, governed approximately $1.5 billion in advance ticket sales that had been received by the Company relating to future voyages. These agreements allow the credit card processors to require under certain circumstances, including the existence of a material adverse change, excessive chargebacks and other triggering events, that the Company maintain a reserve which would be satisfied by posting collateral. Although the agreements vary, these requirements may generally be satisfied either through a percentage of customer payments withheld or providing cash funds directly to the card processor. Any cash reserve or collateral requested could be increased or decreased.
As of September 30, 2021, we had cash reserves of approximately $1.2 billion with credit card processors recognized in accounts receivable, net or other long-term assets. Subsequent to September 30, 2021, $388.3 million in cash reserves have been released to the Company. We may be required to pledge additional collateral and/or post additional cash reserves or take other actions that may further reduce our liquidity.
Sources and Uses of Cash
In this section, references to “2021” refer to the nine months ended September 30, 2021 and references to “2020” refer to the nine months ended September 30, 2020.
Net cash used in operating activities was $2.2 billion in 2021 as compared to net cash used in operating activities of $1.9 billion in 2020. The net cash used in operating activities included timing differences in cash receipts and payments relating to operating assets and liabilities. Advance ticket sales increased by $469.6 million in 2021 compared to a decrease of $834.6 million in 2020 while our accounts receivable, net, which contains our reserves with credit card processors, decreased cash by $979.9 million compared to a decrease of $12.1 million in 2020.
Net cash used in investing activities was $543.0 million in 2021 and $901.6 million in 2020, primarily related to newbuild payments and ship improvement projects in 2021 and payments for Seven Seas Splendor and ship improvement projects in 2020.
Net cash provided by financing activities was $1.3 billion in 2021 primarily due to the proceeds of $2.7 billion from our various note and equity offerings partially offset by debt repayments and a related redemption premium associated with extinguishment of the Private Exchangeable Notes. Net cash provided by financing activities was $4.9 billion in 2020 primarily due to the proceeds of $5.2 billion from our revolving credit facilities, various notes, and newbuild loans partially offset by debt repayments. Additionally, we received net proceeds of $719.1 million from equity offerings.
Future Capital Commitments
Future capital commitments consist of contracted commitments, including ship construction contracts. Anticipated expenditures related to ship construction contracts were $0.1 billion for the remainder of 2021 and $1.6 billion and $2.5 billion for the years ending December 31, 2022 and 2023, respectively. The Company has export credit financing in place for the anticipated expenditures related to ship construction contracts of $0.1 billion for the remainder of 2021 and $1.0 billion and $2.0 billion for the years ending December 31, 2022 and 2023, respectively. Anticipated non-newbuild capital expenditures for the remainder of 2021 are approximately $0.2 billion and approximately $0.5 billion for the year ended December 31, 2022, which includes health and safety investments. Future expected capital expenditures will significantly increase our depreciation and amortization expense.
Project Leonardo will introduce an additional six ships, each ranging from approximately 140,000 to 156,300 Gross Tons with approximately 3,215 to 3,550 Berths, with expected delivery dates from 2022 through 2027. For the Regent brand, we have an order for one Explorer Class Ship to be delivered in 2023, which will be approximately 55,000 Gross Tons and 750 Berths. For the Oceania Cruises brand, we have orders for two Allura Class Ships to be delivered in 2023 and 2025. Each of the Allura Class Ships will be approximately 67,000 Gross Tons and 1,200 Berths. The impacts of
43
COVID-19 on the shipyards where our ships are under construction (or will be constructed) have resulted in some delays in expected ship deliveries, and the impacts of COVID-19 could result in additional delays in ship deliveries in the future, which may be prolonged.
The combined contract prices of the nine ships on order for delivery was approximately €7.6 billion, or $8.8 billion based on the euro/U.S. dollar exchange rate as of September 30, 2021. We have obtained export credit financing which is expected to fund approximately 80% of the contract price of each ship, subject to certain conditions. We do not anticipate any contractual breaches or cancellations to occur. However, if any such events were to occur, it could result in, among other things, the forfeiture of prior deposits or payments made by us and potential claims and impairment losses which may materially impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Capitalized interest for the three months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020 was $12.5 million and $6.8 million, respectively, and for the nine months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020 was $30.6 million and $18.1 million, respectively, primarily associated with the construction of our newbuild ships.
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
None.
Contractual Obligations
As of September 30, 2021, our contractual obligations with initial or remaining terms in excess of one year, including interest payments on long-term debt obligations, included the following (in thousands):
|
| Less than |
|
|
| More than | |||||||||
Total |
| 1 year | 1-3 years | 3-5 years |
| 5 years | |||||||||
Long-term debt (1) | $ | 12,601,904 | $ | 543,701 | $ | 5,484,750 | $ | 4,422,019 | $ | 2,151,434 | |||||
Operating leases (2) |
| 1,331,575 |
| 49,288 | 120,343 | 131,846 | 1,030,098 | ||||||||
Ship construction contracts (3) |
| 8,501,410 |
| 1,500,556 | 2,533,925 | 3,581,820 | 885,109 | ||||||||
Port facilities (4) |
| 522,564 |
| 27,957 | 64,707 | 52,752 | 377,148 | ||||||||
Interest (5) |
| 2,308,796 |
| 560,465 | 1,034,129 | 524,251 | 189,951 | ||||||||
Other (6) |
| 1,217,097 |
| 112,658 | 439,542 | 416,017 | 248,880 | ||||||||
Total | $ | 26,483,346 | $ | 2,794,625 | $ | 9,677,396 | $ | 9,128,705 | $ | 4,882,620 |
(1) | Long-term debt excludes discounts, premiums, and deferred financing fees, which are a direct addition or deduction from the carrying value of the related debt liability in the consolidated balance sheets. |
(2) | Operating leases are primarily for port facilities and offices. |
(3) | Ship construction contracts are for our newbuild ships based on the euro/U.S. dollar exchange rate as of September 30, 2021. Export credit financing is in place from syndicates of banks. Approximately $1.0 billion of the ship construction contracts due in less than one year are financed under export credit or other newbuild related financing. |
(4) | Port facilities represent our usage of certain port facilities. Our port facilities agreements include force majeure provisions that may alleviate an unspecified amount of obligations under minimum guarantees during the COVID-19 pandemic. In March 2020, the Company provided the required notice that such provisions were being enacted. Customary practice is to prorate these obligations for the annual period impacted. A portion of our port fees may be waived as a result of these provisions, including those ports that are presented within operating leases in the table above. |
(5) | Interest includes fixed and variable rates with LIBOR held constant as of September 30, 2021. |
(6) | Other includes future commitments for service, maintenance and other business enhancement capital expenditures contracts. |
44
Other
Certain service providers may require collateral in the normal course of our business. The amount of collateral may change based on certain terms and conditions.
As a routine part of our business, depending on market conditions, exchange rates, pricing and our strategy for growth, we regularly consider opportunities to enter into contracts for the building of additional ships. We may also consider the sale of ships, potential acquisitions and strategic alliances. If any of these were to occur, they may be financed through the incurrence of additional permitted indebtedness, through cash flows from operations, or through the issuance of debt, equity or equity-related securities.
Funding Sources
Certain of our debt agreements contain covenants that, among other things, require us to maintain a minimum level of liquidity, as well as limit our net funded debt-to-capital ratio, and maintain certain other ratios and restrict our ability to pay dividends. Substantially all of our ships and other property and equipment are pledged as collateral for certain of our debt. We have received certain financial and other debt covenant waivers through December 31, 2022 and added new free liquidity requirements. At September 30, 2021, taking into account such waivers, we were in compliance with all of our debt covenants.
In addition, our existing debt agreements restrict, and any of our future debt arrangements may restrict, among other things, the ability of our subsidiaries, including NCLC, to make distributions and/or pay dividends to NCLH and NCLH’s ability to pay cash dividends to its shareholders. NCLH is a holding company and depends upon its subsidiaries for their ability to pay distributions to it to finance any dividend or pay any other obligations of NCLH. However, we do not believe that these restrictions have had or are expected to have an impact on our ability to meet any cash obligations.
In light of the measures described under "Update Regarding COVID-19 Pandemic—Financing Transactions and Cost Containment Measures", we believe our cash on hand, the recently completed $1 billion commitment, the return of a portion of the cash collateral from our credit card processors, expected future operating cash inflows and our ability to issue debt securities or additional equity securities, will be sufficient to fund operations, debt payment requirements, capital expenditures and maintain compliance with covenants under our debt agreements over the next 12-month period. Certain debt covenant waivers were received in 2021 to enable the Company to maintain this compliance. Refer to “—Liquidity and Capital Resources” for further information regarding the debt covenant waivers. There is no assurance that cash flows from operations and additional financings will be available in the future to fund our future obligations. Furthermore, we anticipate that we will need additional equity and/or debt financing to fund our operations in the future if we are unable to resume our cruise voyages on the schedule expected, and particularly if a substantial portion of our fleet continues to have suspended cruise voyages or operate at significantly reduced occupancy levels for a prolonged period. We also expect to opportunistically pursue refinancings and other balance sheet optimization transactions from time to time, which could include equity, equity-linked or debt financings.
Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
General
We are exposed to market risk attributable to changes in interest rates, foreign currency exchange rates and fuel prices. We attempt to minimize these risks through a combination of our normal operating and financing activities and through the use of derivatives. The financial impacts of these derivative instruments are primarily offset by corresponding changes in the underlying exposures being hedged. We achieve this by closely matching the notional, term and conditions of the derivatives with the underlying risk being hedged. We do not hold or issue derivatives for trading or other speculative purposes. Derivative positions are monitored using techniques including market valuations and sensitivity analyses.
45
Interest Rate Risk
As of September 30, 2021, we had interest rate swap and collar agreements to hedge our exposure to interest rate movements and to manage our interest expense. As of September 30, 2021, 73% of our debt was fixed and 27% was variable, which includes the effects of the interest rate swaps. The notional amount of outstanding debt associated with the interest rate derivative agreements as of September 30, 2021 was $0.2 billion. As of December 31, 2020, 74% of our debt was fixed and 26% was variable, which includes the effects of the interest rate swaps and collars. The notional amount of our outstanding debt associated with the interest rate swaps and collars was $0.7 billion as of December 31, 2020. The change in our fixed rate percentage from December 31, 2020 to September 30, 2021 was primarily due to the maturity of various interest rate derivatives. Based on our September 30, 2021 outstanding variable rate debt balance, a one percentage point increase in annual LIBOR interest rates would increase our annual interest expense by approximately $34.2 million excluding the effects of capitalization of interest.
Foreign Currency Exchange Rate Risk
As of September 30, 2021, we had foreign currency derivatives to hedge the exposure to volatility in foreign currency exchange rates related to our ship construction contracts denominated in euros. These derivatives hedge the foreign currency exchange rate risk on a portion of the payments on our ship construction contracts. The payments not hedged aggregate €4.9 billion, or $5.7 billion based on the euro/U.S. dollar exchange rate as of September 30, 2021. As of December 31, 2020, the payments not hedged aggregated €5.0 billion, or $6.1 billion, based on the euro/U.S. dollar exchange rate as of December 31, 2020. The change from December 31, 2020 to September 30, 2021 was due to the addition of foreign currency hedges. We estimate that a 10% change in the euro as of September 30, 2021 would result in a $0.6 billion change in the U.S. dollar value of the foreign currency denominated remaining payments.
Fuel Price Risk
Our exposure to market risk for changes in fuel prices relates to the forecasted purchases of fuel on our ships. Fuel expense, as a percentage of our total cruise operating expense, was 18.0% and 25.4% for the three months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020, respectively, and 19.8% and 15.0% for the nine months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020, respectively. We use fuel derivative agreements to mitigate the financial impact of fluctuations in fuel prices and as of September 30, 2021, excluding fuel swaps for transactions that are no longer probable of occurrence, we had hedged approximately 47%, 35% and 14% of our remaining 2021, 2022 and 2023 projected metric tons of fuel purchases, respectively. As of December 31, 2020, we had hedged approximately 59%, 37% and 15% of our 2021, 2022 and 2023 projected metric tons of fuel purchases, respectively. The percentage of fuel purchases hedged changed between December 31, 2020 and September 30, 2021 primarily due to changes in forecasted purchases and the termination of certain fuel swaps.
We estimate that a 10% increase in our weighted-average fuel price would increase our anticipated 2021 fuel expense by $10.9 million. This increase would be offset by an increase in the fair value of all our fuel swap agreements of $4.8 million. Fair value of our derivative contracts is derived using valuation models that utilize the income valuation approach. These valuation models take into account the contract terms such as maturity, as well as other inputs such as fuel types, fuel curves, creditworthiness of the counterparty and the Company, as well as other data points.
Item 4. Controls and Procedures
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
Our management has evaluated, with the participation of our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures, as such term is defined in Rule 13a-15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, as of September 30, 2021. There are inherent limitations in the effectiveness of any system of disclosure controls and procedures, including the possibility of human error and the circumvention or overriding of the controls and procedures. Accordingly, even effective disclosure controls and procedures can only provide reasonable assurance of achieving their control objectives. Based upon management’s evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of
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September 30, 2021 to provide reasonable assurance that the information required to be disclosed by us in the reports we file or submit under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the rules and forms of the SEC, and that it is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.
Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
There have been no changes in our internal control over financial reporting during the quarter ended September 30, 2021 that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
Limitations on the Effectiveness of Controls
It should be noted that any system of controls, however well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable, and not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the system will be met. In addition, the design of any control system is based in part upon certain assumptions about the likelihood of future events. Because of these and other inherent limitations of control systems, there is only the reasonable assurance that our controls will succeed in achieving their goals under all potential future conditions.
PART II. OTHER INFORMATION
Item 1. Legal Proceedings
See the section titled “Litigation” in “Item 1—Financial Statements—Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements—Note 10 Commitments and Contingencies” in Part I of this quarterly report for information about legal proceedings.
Item 1A. Risk Factors
We refer you to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for a discussion of the risk factors that affect our business and financial results. We wish to caution you that the risk factors discussed in “Item 1A. Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K, elsewhere in this report or other SEC filings, could cause future results to differ materially from those stated in any forward-looking statements. You should not interpret the disclosure of a risk to imply that the risk has not already materialized. COVID-19 has also had the effect of heightening many of the other risks described in the “Risk Factors” included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K, such as those relating to our need to generate sufficient cash flows to service our indebtedness, and our ability to comply with the covenants contained in the agreements that govern our indebtedness.
Other than updates to the risk factors set forth below, there have been no material changes in our risk factors from those disclosed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K.
COVID-19 has had, and is expected to continue to have, a significant impact on our financial condition and operations. The current, and uncertain future, impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, including its effect on the ability or desire of people to travel (including on cruises), is expected to continue to impact our results, operations, outlook, plans, goals, growth, reputation, cash flows, liquidity, demand for voyages and share price.
The spread of COVID-19 and the developments surrounding the global pandemic are having significant negative impacts on all aspects of our business. In March 2020, we implemented a voluntary suspension of all cruise voyages across our three brands. We began resuming cruises voyages in July 2021 on a limited basis and as of the date hereof, eleven of our ships were operating with guests on board as part of our phased return to service. We expect the remaining ships in our fleet will continue incrementally resuming voyage operations through April 1, 2022, but due to the uncertainties surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, it may take us longer than expected to return our entire fleet to cruise voyage operations and/or the suspension could potentially be reinstated, and the total length of time the majority of our fleet is out of cruise voyage operations or operating at significantly reduced occupancy levels may be prolonged. In addition, we have been, and will continue to be, further negatively impacted by related developments, including
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heightened governmental regulations and travel advisories, including recommendations and orders by the U.S. Department of State, the CDC and the Department of Homeland Security, and travel bans and restrictions, each of which has impacted, and is expected to continue to significantly impact, global guest sourcing and our access to various ports of call around the globe. On October 30, 2020, the CDC issued a Conditional Order that introduces a phased approach for the resumption of passenger cruises in the U.S. depending on a cruise line’s ability to implement certain protocols and procedures, which has been extended through January 15, 2022. We have received conditional sailing certificates for certain ships and are in the process of seeking certifications for additional ships in our fleet that will be operating out of the U.S., but our ability to comply with the Conditional Order in the future is unknown. As a result of these and other regulatory requirements and other logistical challenges, the timeline for our ability to return our entire fleet to cruises both in and outside of the U.S. is fluid. Additionally, in the U.S., certain states have enacted legislation prohibiting companies from verifying the vaccination status of guests, which in some instances we have challenged in court. Compliance with the Conditional Order and other regulations involves significant costs and could create significant uncertainties about our ability to continue to operate our cruise voyages in the U.S. We will continue to incur COVID-19 related costs as we implement and maintain health-related protocols on our ships, such as controlled capacity and testing, which have had and may continue to have a significant effect on our operations. In addition, the industry is subject to enhanced health and safety requirements which have been, and may continue to be, costly and take a significant amount of time to implement across our fleet. We have had instances of COVID-19 on our ships and there is no guarantee that the health and safety protocols we implement will be successful in preventing the spread of COVID-19 onboard our ships and among our passengers and crew in the future.
To date, the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in significant costs and lost revenue as a result of the suspension of cruise voyages, implementation of additional health and safety measures, reduced demand for cruise vacations, guest compensation, itinerary modifications, redeployments and cancellations, travel restrictions and advisories, the unavailability of ports and/or destinations, costs to return our passengers to their home destinations and expenses to transport our crew to and from our ships and to assist some of our crew that were unable to return home in an optimal time frame with food and housing.
Our ability to transport crew to and from our ships is dependent on a number of factors, including the ability to transport crew members to and from their home countries due to the limited number of commercial flights and charter options available, and governmental restrictions and regulations with respect to disembarking crew members and travel generally. Additionally, our policy that crew members must be fully vaccinated has created logistical challenges due to limitations on vaccine supplies, logistical complexities relating to vaccinating crew members who reside in different countries around the world and vaccine hesitancy. Such restrictions on crew travel and challenges in making sure our crew members have been vaccinated has impacted and could continue to impact our ability to staff our ships as operations continue to resume.
Between March 12, 2020 and April 30, 2020, three class action lawsuits were filed against us under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder, alleging that we made false and misleading statements to the market and customers about COVID-19, which were combined and later dismissed in April 2021. In addition, in March 2020 the Florida Attorney General announced an investigation related to our marketing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Following the announcement of the investigation by the Florida Attorney General, we received notifications from other attorneys general and governmental agencies that they are conducting similar investigations. We may be the subject of additional lawsuits and investigations stemming from COVID-19. We cannot predict the number or outcome of any such proceedings and the impact that they will have on our financial results, but any such impact may be material.
We have nine newbuilds on order, scheduled to be delivered through 2027. The impacts of COVID-19 on the shipyards where our ships are under construction or will be constructed, have resulted in some delays in expected ship deliveries, and the impacts of COVID-19 could result in additional delays in ship deliveries in the future, which may be prolonged.
Due to the unknown duration and extent of the COVID-19 pandemic, travel restrictions, bans and advisories, uncertainties around our ability to comply with the Conditional Order and/or any additional or future regulatory restrictions on our operations, the potential unavailability of ports and/or destinations, unknown cancellations and timing of redeployments and a general impact on consumer sentiment regarding cruise travel, there are continuing uncertainties
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about when our full fleet will be back in service at historical occupancy levels. Moreover, demand for cruises may remain weak for a significant length of time and we cannot predict if and when each brand will return to pre-pandemic demand or pricing levels. Due to the discretionary nature of leisure travel spending and the competitive nature of the cruise industry, our revenues are heavily influenced by the condition of the U.S. economy and economies in other regions of the world. Unfavorable conditions in these broader economies have resulted, and may result in the future, in decreased demand for cruise vacations, changes in booking practices and related reactions by our competitors, all of which in turn have had, and may continue to have in the future, a strong negative effect on our business. In particular, our bookings may be negatively impacted by enhanced health and safety protocols, including vaccination requirements, concerns that cruises are susceptible to the spread of infectious diseases as well as adverse changes in the perceived or actual economic climate, including higher unemployment rates, declines in income levels and loss of personal wealth resulting from the impact of COVID-19. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and associated decline in economic activity and increase in unemployment levels are expected to have a severe and prolonged effect on the global economy generally and, in turn, is expected to depress demand for cruise vacations into the foreseeable future. In addition, we cannot predict the impact COVID-19 will have on our partners, such as travel agencies, suppliers and other vendors. We may be adversely impacted by any adverse impact our partners suffer. The global supply chain has also been negatively impacted by COVID-19, which has had an effect on our operations and our ability to source supplies. We cannot predict the impact on our financial performance and our cash flows required for cash refunds of fares for cancelled sailings as a result of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the public’s concern regarding the health and safety of travel, including by cruise ship, and related decreases in demand for travel and cruising. Depending on the timing for bringing our full fleet back in service and number of cancellations, we may be required to provide cash refunds for a substantial portion of the balance of our advanced ticket sales. Accordingly, as a result of these unprecedented circumstances, we cannot predict the full impact of COVID-19 on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Moreover, our ability to attract and retain guests and crew depends, in part, upon the perception and reputation of our Company and our brands and the public’s concerns regarding the health and safety of travel generally, as well as regarding the cruise industry and our ships. Actual or perceived risk of infection could have an adverse effect on the public’s perception of the Company, which could harm our reputation and business. Additionally, some of our protocols, such as our requirement that all guests and crew must be vaccinated for our initial voyages, may attract negative publicity.
As a result of the impacts of COVID-19, provisions in our credit card processing and other commercial agreements have and may continue to adversely affect our liquidity. We have agreements with several credit card companies to process the sale of tickets and provide other services. Under these agreements, the credit card companies could, under certain circumstances and upon written notice, require us to maintain a reserve, which reserve would be funded by the credit card companies withholding or offsetting our credit card receivables, or our posting of cash or other collateral. As a result of the impacts of COVID-19, we have seen an increase in demand from consumers for refunds on their tickets, and we anticipate this will continue to be the case for the near future. As of September 30, 2021, we had cash reserves of approximately $1.2 billion with credit card processors recognized in accounts receivable, net or other long-term assets. Subsequent to September 30, 2021, $388.3 million in cash reserves have been released to the Company. We may be required to pledge additional collateral and/or post additional cash reserves or take other actions that may further reduce our liquidity. As a consequence, our financial position and liquidity could be further materially impacted.
As a result of all of the foregoing, we will report a net loss for the three months and year ending December 31, 2021 and expect to report a net loss until we are able to resume regular voyages. Our ability to forecast our cash inflows and additional capital needs is hampered, and we could be required to raise additional capital in the future. Our access to and cost of financing will depend on, among other things, global economic conditions, conditions in the global financing markets, the availability of sufficient amounts of financing, the terms and conditions of our existing debt agreements and any agreements governing future indebtedness, our prospects and our credit ratings. Since March 2020, Moody’s has downgraded our long-term issuer rating to B2, our senior secured rating to B1 and our senior unsecured rating to Caa1. Since April 2020, S&P Global has downgraded our issuer credit rating to B, lowered our issue-level rating on our $875 million Revolving Loan Facility and $1.5 billion Term Loan A Facility to BB-, our issue-level rating on our $675 million 2024 Senior Secured Notes and $750 million 2026 Senior Secured Notes to B+ and our senior unsecured rating to B-. If our credit ratings were to be further downgraded, or general market conditions were to ascribe higher risk to our rating levels, our industry, or us, our access to capital and the cost of any debt or equity financing will be further
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negatively impacted. Accordingly, there is no guarantee that debt or equity financings will be available in the future to fund our obligations, or that they will be available on terms consistent with our expectations.
The agreements governing our indebtedness contain, and any instruments governing future indebtedness of ours may contain, covenants that impose significant operating and financial restrictions on us, including restrictions or prohibitions on our ability to, among other things: incur or guarantee additional debt or issue certain preference shares; pay dividends on or make distributions in respect of our share capital or make other restricted payments, including the ability of our subsidiaries to pay dividends or make distributions to us; repurchase or redeem capital stock or subordinated indebtedness; make certain investments or acquisitions; transfer, sell or create liens on certain assets; and consolidate or merge with, or sell or otherwise dispose of all or substantially all of our assets to other companies. As a result of these covenants, we are limited in the manner in which we conduct our business, and we may be unable to engage in favorable business activities or finance future operations or capital needs. The terms of any instruments governing future indebtedness may also require us to provide incremental collateral, which may further restrict our business operations.
The extent of the effects of the pandemic on our business and the cruise industry at large is highly uncertain and will ultimately depend on future developments, many of which are outside of our control, including, but not limited to, the duration, spread, severity and any recurrence of the pandemic, the severity and transmission rates of new more contagious and/or vaccine-resistant variants of COVID-19, the availability, distribution, rate of public acceptance and efficacy of vaccines and therapeutics for COVID-19, the duration and scope of related federal, state and local government orders and restrictions, the extent of the impact of COVID-19 on overall demand for cruise vacations and the length of time it takes for demand and pricing to return and normal economic and operating conditions to resume, all of which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted. COVID-19 has also had the effect of heightening many of the other risks described herein, such as those relating to our need to generate sufficient cash flows to service our indebtedness, and our ability to comply with the covenants contained in the agreements that govern our indebtedness.
Additionally, epidemics, pandemics and viral outbreaks or other wide-ranging health scares in the future would likely also adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Item 6. Exhibits
10.1 | ||
10.2 | ||
10.3 | ||
10.4 |
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10.5 | ||
10.6 | ||
10.7 | ||
10.8 | ||
10.9 | ||
10.10* | ||
31.1* | ||
31.2* |
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32.1** |
101* | The following unaudited consolidated financial statements from Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd.’s Quarterly Report on Form 10‑Q for the quarterly period ended September 30, 2021, formatted in Inline XBRL: | |
(i) the Consolidated Statements of Operations for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020; | ||
(ii) the Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020; | ||
(iii) the Consolidated Balance Sheets as of September 30, 2021 and December 31, 2020; | ||
(iv) the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the nine months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020; | ||
(v) the Consolidated Statements of Changes in Shareholders’ Equity for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020; and | ||
(vi) the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements. | ||
104* | The cover page from Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd.’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2021, formatted in Inline XBRL and included in the interactive data files submitted as Exhibit 101. |
* Filed herewith.
** Furnished herewith.
# Certain portions of this document that constitute confidential information have been redacted in accordance with Regulation S-K Item 601(b)(10).
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SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.
NORWEGIAN CRUISE LINE HOLDINGS LTD. | ||
(Registrant) | ||
|
| |
By: | /s/ FRANK J. DEL RIO | |
Name: | Frank J. Del Rio | |
Title: | President and Chief Executive Officer | |
| (Principal Executive Officer) | |
|
| |
By: | /s/ MARK A. KEMPA | |
Name: | Mark A. Kempa | |
Title: | Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer | |
| (Principal Financial Officer) | |
Dated: November 9, 2021 |
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