In Q2 last year, Lindblad posted an $8.8m profit, including $12.5m of pretax income and $5.5m of pretax expenses related to its July 2015 merger with Capitol Acquisition Corp. II.
Revenues in the recent quarter rose to $53.9m, an increase of $4.4m, or 8.9%, reflecting Lindblad's May acquisition of 80.1% Natural Habitat, an adventure travel and ecotourism company. $5.7m of additional revenue came from Natural Habitat, partially offset by $1.3m lower revenue at the Lindblad segment due to drydocks.
Q2 results were 'in line with our expectations for the period,' said Sven-Olof Lindblad, president and ceo. 'We grew net yield by 3.7% over last year and maintained a strong occupancy level at 92%.'
Revenue and EBITDA were impacted by a planned reduction in operating days for the owned fleet due to vessel drydocking. In 2016, both of Lindblad's blue water vessels, Explorer and Orion, were drydocked. In 2015, only one vessel was wet docked for a much shorter period.
The Lindblad segment had 41,213 available guest nights in Q2 compared to 44,193 a year ago.
'The combined effect of lower revenue from fewer operating days and the operating costs of these planned drydocks is the key factor with regard to the year-over-year comparison of revenue and EBITDA in the period,' Lindblad said.
Adjusted net cruise cost per available guest night was $858, up from $691 for the same period in the prior year. The increase was primarily driven by higher cost of tours due to the additional drydock days and more extensive maintenance work during the drydocks, as well as increased charter hire expense related to additional voyages. These added costs were partially offset by lower fuel costs.
As it has transitioned to the public market and works on executing a transformational long-range growth plan, the company said additional infrastructure required to support these efforts has increased general and administrative expense. This includes adding talent at the executive level and across the organization, public company accounting and compliance costs, rating agency fees and incremental insurance.
CEO Lindblad said the company is currently at 94% of projected guest ticket revenues for 2016, compared to 103% at the same time in 2015 for the 2015 fiscal year, a reduction of approximately $5.3m. This is mainly because of Q4 voyages.
'We have employed a variety of tactical marketing opportunities for this period to counteract effects seen in specific geographies relating to concerns over the Zika virus and a slowdown in activity on the National Geographic Endeavour, where segments of our audience are waiting for the introduction of our new vessel, the Endeavour II, for our Galápagos operation,' Lindblad said.
'We have historically been adept at isolating challenges and developing an effective tactical response while staying focused on our long-term objectives. However, we may be unable to fully eliminate all the effects of the various challenges we face in the short term,' he added.
Work proceeds on schedule for the Q4 delivery of National Geographic Endeavour II (ex Via Australis). The ship will operate year-round in the Galápagos, replacing National Geographic Endeavour. The new vessel has been undergoing significant renovation and refurbishment since its April acquisition.
In December Lindblad also will expand its travel offerings with new expeditions in Cuba aboard the 42-passenger Panorama II, the fifth chartered vessel in the fleet. The ship is chartered for two years and will operate on a seasonal basis from December through March.
Additionally, the company said its new coastal vessels under construction in Seattle are proceeding on schedule, with National Geographic Quest expected to be delivered in Q2 2017 and the second newbuild due a year later.
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