Arnold Donald, CEO of Carnival Corp. takes the stage to deliver his keynote address at CES in Las Vegas, U.S., January 5, 2017. REUTERS/Rick Wilking
June 24 (Reuters) – Carnival Corp (CCL.N) reported a quarterly loss of about $2 billion on Thursday, as the prolonged suspension of cruises due to the COVID-19 pandemic hammered its business.
Cruise operators have recorded little to no revenue due to the no-sail order from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, forcing them to tap billions of dollars in debt and even sell a few ships to stay afloat.
Carnival ended the second quarter with $9.3 billion in cash and short-term investments, down from $11.5 billion at the end of the first quarter, as it spent heavily to prepare its ships for voyages.
Net loss was $2.07 billion for the second quarter ended May 31, compared with $4.37 billion a year earlier. Refinitiv data shows Carnival’s loss in the last four quarter was $1.97 billion at the least.
The operator of Princess Cruises also backed its expectations for a third-quarter loss.
Reporting by Praveen Paramasivam in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva
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