The Miami-based company, which also owns the Celebrity and Azamara cruise brands, made a net profit of $1.63 billion or $7.53 per share in 2017, which was a 26.6% increase on the previous year. Revenue was also up by 3.3% to $8.8 billion year-on-year.
The record-breaking results have led RCCL to announce a staff bonus, equating to 5% of salary, for all 66,000 employees, which will be in the form of shares in the US-listed company over the next three years. The Thank You, Thank You Bonus will be worth around $80 million to staff collectively.
Chief executive Richard Fain said: “Exceptional results require exceptional effort. Ours is a people business – we want to thank every one of our people for the hard work that got us to this announcement and give them a stake in our success going forward. Each of the brands performed excellently during the past year, raising their guest satisfaction and employee engagement scores to new heights.”
RCCL expects to do even better in 2018 with bookings for the year “better than last year’s record high and at higher rates”. This has led the company to forecast a net profit of between $8.55 and $8.75 per share for the current year.
The company said that consumers in North America and Europe “continue to drive strong demand” for its cruises, which meant it was on course to record a ninth consecutive year of yield growth. Part of the reason for this forecasted increase in yields is the launch of three new ships this year: Symphony of the Seas, Celebrity Edge and Azamara Pursuit.
Chief financial officer Jason Liberty said: “Our yields are increasing on top of an exceptional 6.4% net yield growth experienced in 2017. This is quite extraordinary and a testament to the strength in the demand for cruising and our brands.
“The critical wave period is off to a very good start with booking trends above the same time last year. Last year’s wave season was incredibly strong, so we are encouraged that bookings are trending even higher this year. We are booked ahead of last year in both load factor and rate.”
Royal Caribbean admitted that sales to the Caribbean were “relatively soft” for six weeks following Hurricanes Irma and Maria in August and September 2017 but that bookings had now “normalised” from November onwards and sales were now ahead of last year.
