(Reuters) -Royal Caribbean Group said on Friday that the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant would delay its return to profitability after missing estimates for fourth-quarter revenue.
The variant’s lightning spread has forced operators to tweak trip itineraries and even cancel voyages, dealing another blow to an industry that just started sailing again from U.S. ports in mid-2021.
“The timing of Omicron was particularly unfortunate for the first half of 2022 bookings and will likely delay our return to profitability by a few months,” Royal Caribbean said in a statement.
Total revenue came in at $982.2 million in the quarter ended Dec. 31, while analysts on average had expected $1.04 billion, according to Refinitiv IBES data.
(Reporting by Praveen Paramasivam in Bengaluru; Editing by Aditya Soni)
