Carnival Corp to secure another $1 billion for Covid warchest

The cruise giant said it would use the proceeds “for general corporate purposes” after reporting an adjusted third quarter loss of $1.7 billion.

Since March, the company has raised nearly $12 billion through a series of financial transactions. The latest share issue follows a loan facility of $2.8 billion agreed in June and another $1.3 billion of secured bonds issued in July, among other measures.

Carnival said its average monthly cash burn in the third quarter was $770 million, in line with expectations. It estimates next quarter cash burn at $530 a month.

Carnival Corporation president and chief executive Arnold Donald said: “We continue to take aggressive action to emerge a leaner more efficient company.

“We are accelerating the exit of 18 less efficient ships from our fleet. This will generate a 12% reduction in capacity and a structurally lower cost base, while retaining the most cash generative assets in our portfolio.

“With two-thirds of our guests repeat cruisers each year, we believe the reduction in capacity leaves us well positioned to take advantage of the proven resiliency of and the pent up demand for cruise travel – as evidenced by our being at the higher end of historical booking curves for the second half of 2021.”

Carnival holds $2.4 billion in future cruise credits, while new bookings accounted for 55% of transactions during the third quarter.

Carnival’s Costa brand restarted operations with Costa Deliziosa from Italian Ports on September 6. This is expected to be followed by Costa Diadema, departing Genoa on September 19.

German brand Aida expects to resume operations during this autumn with sailings in the Canary Islands and western Mediterranean.