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In reporting Q1 loss, Hurtigruten sees strong demand for 2022 and beyond

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Hurtigruten's Roald Amundsen, one of seven vessels in its expedition fleet — all currently in warm lay-up
Hurtigruten Group swung to a first quarter loss but said bookings for 2022 are 45% higher compared to bookings for 2020 at this time in 2019.

Adjusted EBITDA loss was €19.2, excluding one-time items, down from an EBITDA gain of €19.2m in Q1 2020. Total revenue fell to €36.1m, down from €140.2m a year ago.

'There is a huge pent-up demand for travel, and we see a substantial and growing demand for authentic adventure travel,' Hurtigruten Group CEO Daniel Skjeldam said. 'After a very challenging year and a half for the entire travel industry, we are extremely excited about our step-by-step return to operations.'

Stronger yield, volume for coastal and expedition segments

Current bookings strength is driven by both yield and volume at Hurtigruten Expeditions and Hurtigruten Norway (coastal).

2022 bookings over the last 30 days were 101% higher than bookings for 2020 sailings during the same 30-day period in 2019. Adjusted for rebookings, the growth in new bookings is 34% compared to the same period in 2019.

The company also reported a 'very strong' start to its 2023 pre-sale period with demand for Hurtigruten Norway and Hurtigruten Expeditions.

Operations expected to ramp up from July

Booking momentum for the second half of this year started to pick up over the last 30 days, but Hurtigruten Group said customers are still waiting to see when travel restrictions will be lifted. Second half bookings are currently 62% of what would be expected in a normal year.

With the current vaccine rollout, the introduction of vaccination passports in the EU and subsequent lifting of travel restrictions, Hurtigruten Norway expects to be back at close to normal operations in July, while Hurtigruten Expeditions forecasts a gradual ramp-up of operations starting in July, with normal operations in Q4.

Since the start of the year,  Hurtigruten Norway has operated five ships along the Norwegian coast, while all seven vessels of Hurtigruten Expeditions are in warm lay-up.

Monthly cash burn

Average monthly cash burn was approximately €15m before working capital items, in line with guidance.

During the quarter, deposits increased to €108.8, up from €92.1m, driven by increased booking momentum and the low level of refund claims related to sailings canceled in Q1 and Q2 2021.

Liquidity

At March 31, Hurtigruten had liquidity of €61m, up from €16m at year-end 2020.

This week, Hurtigruten Group strengthened its liquidity by increasing its letter of credit capacity by  €33m to a total of €93m. This will mainly be used to release restricted cash and increase financial flexibility with the expected lifting of travel restrictions and the ramp-up of operations in Q3.

Covenant waiver

In addition, the company secured a covenant waiver for its senior term and revolving facility to reduce the minimum liquidity requirement to €15m from €21m.