: Norwegian Cruise’s stock drops toward a 6-month low after downbeat earnings outlook, amid lower-than-expected close-in demand

Shares of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. NCLH took a 2.7% hit toward a 6-month low in premarket trading Wednesday, after the cruise operator topped third-quarter profit estimates but cut its full-year outlook amid lower-than-expected close-in demand for certain itineraries. The company swung to net income of $345.9 million, or 71 cents a share, from a loss of $295.4 million, or 70 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Excluding nonrecurring items, adjusted earnings per share of 76 cents beat the FactSet consensus of 68 cents. Revenue jumped 57.0% to $2.54 billion, topping the FactSet consensus of $2.53 billion. as passenger ticket revenue climbed 56.8% and onboard and other revenue rose 57.5%. Looking ahead, the company expects an adjusted per-share loss of 15 cents for the fourth quarter, compared with the FactSet consensus for EPS of 2 cents. The 2023 adjusted EPS outlook was cut to approximately 73 cents from approximately 80 cents, amid “lower than expected close-in demand for certain longer, exotic itineraries on Norwegian Cruise Line (“NCL”) in late season Eastern Mediterranean and certain parts of Asia.” The stock has tumbled 29.9% over the past three months through Tuesday while the S&P 500 SPX has shed 8.4%.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.