Lindblad's Q3 sails past forecasts on higher capacity utilization, pricing

Lindblad Expeditions Holdings' third quarter beat forecasts with net income of $21.3m, or 36 cents per share, up from $4.5m, or 8 cents per share a year ago and above Wall Street's 18-cent forecast.

'Looking ahead, this strong growth is poised to continue as current year bookings for future travel have reached record levels,' CEO Sven Lindblad said.

Bookings to date for future travel increased 26% versus the same period in 2023.

Higher operating results

The $16.8m increase in net income primarily reflects higher operating results, a $6.8m tax benefit, $0.4m of lower stock-based compensation expense and $0.2m in foreign currency gains. This compares with $0.5m in foreign currency losses in Q3 2023 partially offset by $2.2m of higher depreciation and amortization driven by digital transformation projects implemented in 2023 and $1.1m in costs for the acquisition of Wineland-Thomson Adventures.

Revenues beat expectations

Revenues rose to $206m, $30m more than in Q3 2023, and higher than the $193.8m consensus expectation. This was driven by a $12.5m increase at the Lindblad segment and a $17.5m increase at the land experiences segment.

Net yield up 9% to $1,205/occupancy 82%

Lindblad segment tour revenues of $121.3m, up 12% from a year ago,  were driven by a 6% increase in available guest nights due to greater fleet utilization, a 9% increase in net yield per available guest night to $1,205 on higher pricing and 1 point higher occupancy: 82%.

Land experiences tour revenues of $84.7m, up 26% from a year ago, were primarily due to an increase in guests traveled, higher pricing and the addition of Wineland-Thompson Adventures.

Adjusted EBITDA

Adjusted EBITDA of $45.8m increased $11.9m year over year, driven by a $6.1m increase at the Lindblad segment and a $5.7m increase at the land experiences segment.

The Lindblad segment adjusted EBITDA of $26.2m rose $6.1m primarily due to higher tour revenues, partially offset by increased marketing spend to drive long-term growth initiatives, higher general and administrative costs mainly due to increased personnel costs and higher royalties associated with the expanded National Geographic agreement.

2024 outlook

For the full year, Lindblad Expeditions Holdings projects tour revenues in the range of $610m to $630m and adjusted EBITDA of $88m to $98m.

Liquidity

Cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash were $224.6m as of Sept. 30, up from $187.3m as of Dec. 31, mainly due to higher bookings for future travel, partially offset by $23.7m used in purchasing property and equipment and $16.7m in cash used to aquired additional ownership in Natural Habitat and DuVine.

As of Sept. 30, 2024, the company had total debt of $635m and was in compliance with all of its applicable debt covenants.

Check back later for more reporting after the company's earnings call