Weighing cost/benefit, UBS asks why is NCLH in China?

'If yields are 25% below its best yields in the Caribbean, and with higher operating expenses in China, the profit differential would be even greater,' UBS analyst Robin Farley said.

'While new bundled pricing and other go-to-market strategies in China are being rolled out, it doesn’t seem like a compelling proposition for NCLH to have a presence there, in our view,' Farley told investors.

No scale benefits

'With three international offices in China and no scale benefits on the horizon since no other NCLH ships are scheduled to go to China, it looks to us like it would be accretive to earnings if they were to use the Joy in a North American port they don’t currently serve,' Farley said.

She added NCLH is still committed to China and was pleased to turn a profit in the first year there.

NCLH held its analyst day aboard the new Norwegian Bliss Friday in New York.