Norwegian Cruise lifts annual profit forecast on price hikes, steady demand

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd (NCLH.N) raised its full-year profit forecast on Monday, betting on higher pricing and pent-up demand from wealthy customers.

Shares in the company rose more than 3% in premarket trade as it also beat first-quarter revenue expectations and posted smaller-than-expected loss.

Easing of on-board COVID-19 protocols after long periods of restrictions has encouraged people, especially from the higher income group, to go on leisure travel while also boosting spending on various on-board facilities from casinos to spas.

Norwegian, which mostly caters to the affluent, has also been raising prices of its tickets to offset the impact from higher costs of fuel and food due to supply chain snags worsened by the Russia-Ukraine crisis.

In February, the company said it expected costs to decrease towards the later half of the year which would boost margins and help it turn profitable as demand for leisure travel remained resilient.

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