Shares of Carnival Corp. CCL, +3.04% surged 1.3% in morning trading, after the cruise operator provided an update on its third quarter. The company reported a net loss of $2.8 billion, wider than the loss of $2.1 billion in the sequential second quarter, but narrower than the $2.9 billion loss seen in the year-ago quarter. In the pre-pandemic third quarter of 2019, Carnival had net income of $1.8 billion.
The adjusted third-quarter loss was $2.0 billion, compared with an adjusted loss of $1.7 billion a year ago. The company did not provide per-share loss figures. The company said the cruises operating in the third quarter were cash flow positive, and the company expects this to continue. Monthly average cash burn during the quarter was $510 million, which is better than previous guidance. Booking volumes for all cruises during the third quarter were down from the second quarter but higher than the first quarter, as concerns over the spread of the delta variant weighed on booking volumes in August. Meanwhile, cumulative advanced bookings for the second half of 2022 are “ahead of a very strong 2019.” The update comes a day after Carnival said it expected to have more than 50% of its cruise capacity operating by the end of October. Carnival’s stock has lost 8.9% over the past three months, while the S&P 500 SPX, +0.15% has gained 4.2%.