Cruise ship operator and Diamond Princess owner Carnival posts $2bn loss
FTSE-lised cruise ship operator Carnival today posted a $2bn (£1.48bn) loss for the December quarter, as the global Covid-19 pandemic kept its boats in port.
Carnival, whose Princess Cruises unit saw hundreds of its Diamond Princess liner passengers catch Covid-19 early in the pandemic, said currently its business was at “a virtual standstill”.
Shares in London closed down around three per cent this evening.
Carnival said earlier this month it won’t restart US operations until at least April.
Today the cruise company said it ended the fiscal year with $9.5bn in cash and has the liquidity to sustain itself through 2021, even if cash coming in remained at near-zero.
The company said its cash burn rate in the fourth quarter to 30 November was slightly better than it had expected.
In the third quarter, Carnival had reported a loss of $2.86bn.