In its fiscal year third quarter results presentation, TUI Group said that the bright spots were its three cruise lines, despite hits Brexit worries and the grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX fleet.
Underlying EBITA increased by €13 mill for TUI’s three cruise brands – TUI Cruises, Marella Cruises and Hapag-Lloyd Cruises.
Turnover increase to €256.3 mill, compared to €222.7 mill for the 2018 period, while daily rates increased at both Marella Cruises and Hapag-Lloyd Cruises.
The presentation said that the group enjoyed a high occupancy in the TUI Cruises German market, despite capacity growth. TUI reported almost 29.9% increase in capacity days as the fleet capacity grew, with the average daily rate reported to be €190, down from €200 in 3Q18.
The company also said that Marella Cruises was well-booked for the summer season, with increased yields, thanks to a fleet modernisation programme.
All three brands saw growth in the quarter from additional capacity versus prior year, the company said. For example:
• TUI Cruises result was up by €9 mill versus 2018.
• An increase in capacity of 30% (‘Mein Schiff 1’ delivered 2HFY18 and ‘Mein Schiff 2’ delivered 2QFY19) helped to deliver a strong contribution in the quarter.
• Average daily rate was down 5% to €190, compared to 3QFY18, which reflects in part on an itinerary mix and the significant increase in German ocean cruise capacity this year.
• Marella Cruises underlying EBITA was up by €3 mill reflecting the addition of ‘Marella Explorer 2’ delivered in May and average daily rate increasing by 5%.
• The result was partially offset by the exit of ‘Marella Spirit’ in Q1 of this financial year.
• Hapag-Lloyd Cruises underlying EBITA increased by €1 mill, driven by average daily rate up 2% across the fleet and the new ‘Hanseatic nature’ joining the fleet in May, partially offset by the exit of ‘Hanseatic’ at the start of FY19.
