Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
Cautionary Note Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
The discussion under this caption “Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and elsewhere in this document, includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than statements of historical fact, including statements regarding our expectations for future periods, business and industry prospects or future results of operations or financial position, made in this Annual Report on Form 10-K are forward-looking. Words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “considering,” “could,” “driving,” “estimate,” “expect,” “goal,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “project,” “seek,” “should,” “will” and similar expressions are intended to further identify any of these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements reflect management's current expectations but they are based on judgments and are inherently uncertain. Furthermore, they are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause our actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from the future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied in those forward-looking statements. Examples of these risks, uncertainties and other factors include, but are not limited to, those discussed in this Annual Report on Form 10-K and, in particular, the risks discussed under the caption Risk Factors” in Part I, Item 1A herein.
All forward-looking statements made in this Annual Report on Form 10-K speak only as of the date of this document. Given these risks and uncertainties, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Overview
The discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations is organized to present the following:
•a review of our critical accounting policies and estimates and of our financial presentation, including discussion of certain operational and financial metrics we utilize to assist us in managing our business;
•a discussion of our results of operations for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to the same period in 2020;
•a discussion of our business outlook, and
•a discussion of our liquidity and capital resources, including our future capital and contractual commitments and potential funding sources.
A discussion of our results of operations for the year ended December 31, 2020 compared to the year ended December 31, 2019 is included in Part II. Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, filed with the SEC on February 26, 2021 and is incorporated by reference into this Form 10-K.
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Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
Our consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America ("GAAP"). (Refer to Note 1. General and Note 2. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies to our consolidated financial statements under Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data). Certain of our accounting policies are deemed "critical," as they require management's highest degree of judgment, estimates and assumptions. We have discussed these accounting policies and estimates with the audit committee of our board of directors. We believe our most critical accounting policies and estimates are as follows:
Liquidity and COVID-19
The effects of COVID-19 have had and continue to have a material negative impact on our operations, financial results and liquidity. The full extent of the impact will be determined by the length of time COVID-19 influences our industry and our gradual return to service. Given the ongoing effects of COVID-19 on our operations and global bookings, we have identified the estimation of our future liquidity requirements as a critical accounting policy.
•Expected continued gradual resumption of cruise operations;
•Expected sustained increase in revenue per available passenger cruise day during our continued resumption of cruise operations;
•Expected lower than comparable historical occupancy levels during our continued resumption of cruise operations, increasing over time until we reach historical occupancy levels; and
•Expected spend during our continued resumption of cruise operations, including returning our crew members to our vessels and maintaining enhanced health and safety protocols.
The assumptions used to estimate our liquidity requirements are frequently and continuously evaluated because of the unprecedented environment that we are experiencing due to COVID-19. In addition, the magnitude, duration and speed of the global pandemic continues to be uncertain. As a result, we have made reasonable estimates and judgments of the impact of COVID-19 on our liquidity within our financial statements and there may be changes to those estimates in future periods.
We have taken and will continue to take actions to improve our liquidity, including:
•Reduction of capital expenditures;
•Reduction of operating expenses in 2020 and 2021 during the suspension of our global cruise operations (including furloughing staff and laying up vessels);
•Amending credit agreements to defer payments and covenant requirements, as well as extend maturity dates;
•Raising capital through debt and stock issuances; and
•Suspending dividend payments.
Ship Accounting
Ships represent our most significant assets and are stated at cost less accumulated depreciation and amortization. Depreciation of ships is generally computed net of a 10%-15% projected residual value, using the straight-line method over the estimated useful life of the asset, which is generally 30-35 years. The 30-35 year useful life and 10%-15% residual value is the weighted-average of all major components of a ship. Our useful life and residual value estimates take into consideration the impact of anticipated technological changes, long-term cruise and vacation market conditions and historical useful lives of similarly-built ships. In addition, we take into consideration our estimates of the weighted-average useful lives of the ships' major component systems, such as hull, superstructure, main electric, engines and cabins. We employ a cost allocation methodology at the component level, in order to support the estimated weighted-average useful lives and residual values, as well as to determine the net cost basis of assets being replaced. Given the very large and complex nature of our ships, our accounting estimates related to ships and determinations of ship improvement costs to be capitalized require considerable judgment and are inherently uncertain. We do not have cost segregation studies performed to specifically componentize our ship systems. However, we estimate the costs, useful lives and residual values of component systems based principally on general and technical information known about major ship component systems and their lives, as well as our knowledge of the cruise vacation industry. We do not identify and track depreciation by ship component systems, but instead utilize these estimates to determine the net cost basis of assets replaced or refurbished. Improvement costs that we believe add value to our ships are capitalized as additions to the ship and depreciated over the shorter of the improvements' estimated useful lives or that
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of the associated ship. The estimated cost and accumulated depreciation of replaced or refurbished ship components are written off and any resulting losses are recognized within Cruise operating expenses in our Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss.
We periodically review estimated useful lives and residual values for ongoing reasonableness, considering long term views on our intended use of each class of ships and the planned level of improvements to maintain and enhance vessels within those classes. In the event a factor is identified that may trigger a change in the estimated useful lives and residual values of our ships, a review of the estimate is completed.
We use the deferral method to account for drydocking costs. Under the deferral method, drydocking costs incurred are deferred and charged to expense on a straight-line basis over the period to the next scheduled drydock, which we estimate to be a period of thirty to sixty months based on the vessel's age as required by Class. Deferred drydock costs consist of the costs to drydock the vessel and other costs incurred in connection with the drydock which are necessary to maintain the vessel's Class certification. Class certification is necessary in order for our cruise ships to be flagged in a specific country, obtain liability insurance and legally operate as passenger cruise ships. The activities associated with those drydocking costs cannot be performed while the vessel is in service and, as such, are done during a drydock as a planned major maintenance activity. The significant deferred drydock costs consist of hauling and wharfage services provided by the drydock facility, hull inspection and related activities (e.g., scraping, pressure cleaning, bottom painting), maintenance to steering propulsion, thruster equipment and ballast tanks, port services such as tugs, pilotage and line handling, and freight associated with these items. We perform a detailed analysis of the various activities performed for each drydock and only defer those costs that are directly related to planned major maintenance activities necessary to maintain Class. The costs deferred are related to activities not otherwise routinely periodically performed to maintain a vessel's designed and intended operating capability. Repairs and maintenance activities are charged to expense as incurred.
We use judgment when estimating the period between drydocks, which can result in adjustments to the estimated amortization of drydock costs. If the vessel is disposed of before the next drydock, the remaining balance in deferred drydock is written-off to the gain or loss on disposal of vessel in the period in which the sale takes place. We also use judgment when identifying costs incurred during a drydock which are necessary to maintain the vessel's Class certification as compared to those costs attributable to repairs and maintenance which are expensed as incurred.
We believe we have made reasonable estimates for ship accounting purposes. However, should certain factors or circumstances cause us to revise our estimates of ship useful lives or projected residual values, depreciation expense could be materially higher or lower. If circumstances cause us to change our assumptions in making determinations as to whether ship improvements should be capitalized, the amounts we expense each year as repairs and maintenance costs could increase, partially offset by a decrease in depreciation expense. If we had reduced our estimated average ship useful life by one year, depreciation expense for 2021 would have increased by approximately $48.0 million. If our ships were estimated to have no residual value, depreciation expense for 2021 would have increased by approximately $261.7 million. We have evaluated our estimated ship useful lives and projected residual values in light of our current environment and determined that there are no changes to these estimates based on our gradual return to service.
Business Combinations
On July 31, 2018, we acquired a 66.7% equity stake ("the 2018 acquisition") in Silversea Cruises, previously known as Silversea Cruises Holding Ltd., an ultra-luxury and expedition cruise line, from Heritage Cruise Holding Ltd. ("Heritage"), previously known as Silversea Cruises Group Ltd. The purchase price for the 2018 acquisition consisted of $1.02 billion in cash, net of assumed liabilities, and contingent consideration due to Heritage. The fair value of the contingent consideration at the time of the 2018 acquisition was $44.0 million. Changes to the fair value of the contingent consideration were recorded in our results of operations, if any, in the period of the change prior to its termination.
On July 9, 2020, we acquired the remaining 33.3% interest in Silversea Cruises that we did not already own (the "noncontrolling interest") from Heritage. As a result of the acquisition of the noncontrolling interest, Silversea Cruises is now a wholly owned cruise brand. Refer to Note 1. General to our consolidated financial statements under Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data for further information regarding acquisition of Silversea Cruises' noncontrolling interest.
We account for business combinations in accordance with ASC 805, Business Combinations, by applying the acquisition method of accounting. The acquisition method of accounting requires that we record the assets acquired and liabilities assumed, and the noncontrolling interest, if any, at their respective fair values at the acquisition date. Goodwill is recognized as the excess of the purchase price over the fair value of the net assets acquired. Significant estimates and assumptions are made by management to value such assets and liabilities based on third party valuations such as appraisals or internal valuations based on discounted cash flow analyses or other valuation techniques. Although we believe that those estimates and assumptions are
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reasonable and appropriate, they are inherently uncertain and subject to change. If during the measurement period (not to exceed one year), additional information is obtained about facts and circumstances that existed as of the acquisition date related to the fair value of the assets acquired and liabilities assumed, we may adjust our estimates to account for subsequent adjustments to the provisional amounts recognized at the acquisition date, resulting in an offsetting adjustment to the goodwill associated with the business acquired. Our purchase price measurement period for the Silversea Cruises 2018 acquisition was closed during 2019.
Uncertain tax positions and tax-related valuation allowances are initially established in connection with a business combination as of the acquisition date. Additionally, any contingent consideration is estimated at fair value at the acquisition date. Liability-classified contingent consideration is remeasured each reporting period, with changes in fair value recognized in earnings until the contingent consideration is settled.
Valuation of Goodwill, Indefinite-Lived Intangible Assets and Long-Lived Assets
We review goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets for impairment at the reporting unit level annually or, when events or circumstances dictate, more frequently. The impairment review for goodwill consists of a qualitative assessment of whether it is more-likely than-not that a reporting unit's fair value is less than its carrying value, and if necessary, a goodwill impairment test. Factors to consider when performing the qualitative assessment include general economic conditions, limitations on accessing capital, changes in forecasted operating results, changes in fuel prices and fluctuations in foreign exchange rates.
The goodwill impairment analysis consists of a comparison of the fair value of the reporting unit with its carrying value. We typically estimate the fair value of our reporting units using a discounted cash flow model, which may also include a combination of a market-based valuation approach. The estimation of fair value utilizing discounted expected future cash flows includes numerous uncertainties which require our significant judgment when making assumptions of expected revenues, operating costs, marketing, selling and administrative expenses, interest rates, ship additions and retirements as well as assumptions regarding the cruise vacation industry's competitive environment and general economic and business conditions, among other factors. The principal assumptions used in the discounted cash flow model for our 2021 impairment assessments were:
•Forecasted net revenues, primarily the timing of returning to normalized operations, occupancy rates from existing and expected ship deliveries, and terminal growth rate; and
•Weighted average cost of capital (i.e., discount rate).
The discounted cash flow model uses the most current projected operating results for the upcoming fiscal year as a base. We discount the projected cash flows using rates specific to the reporting unit based on its weighted-average cost of capital.
If the fair value of the reporting unit exceeds its carrying value, no write-down of goodwill is required. As amended by ASU No. 2017-04, Intangibles - Goodwill and Other (Topic 350) – Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment, if the fair value of the reporting unit is less than the carrying value of its net assets, an impairment is recognized based on the amount by which the carrying value of a reporting unit exceeds its fair value, not to exceed the total amount of goodwill allocated to such reporting unit.
The impairment review for indefinite-life intangible assets can be performed using a qualitative or quantitative impairment assessment. The quantitative assessment consists of a comparison of the fair value of the asset with its carrying value. We estimate the fair value of these assets using a discounted cash flow model and various valuation methods depending on the nature of the intangible asset, such as the relief-from-royalty method, for trademarks and trade names. The principal assumptions used in the discounted cash flow model for our 2021 impairment assessments were:
•Forecasted net revenues, primarily the timing of returning to normalized operations, occupancy rates from existing and expected ship deliveries and terminal growth rate;
•Royalty rate; and
•Weighted average cost of capital (i.e., discount rate).
If the carrying value exceeds its fair value, an impairment loss is recognized in an amount equal to that excess. If the fair value exceeds its carrying value, the indefinite-life intangible asset is not considered impaired. Other intangible assets assigned finite useful lives are amortized on a straight-line basis over their estimated useful lives. Refer to Note 5. Intangible Assets to our consolidated financial statements under Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplemental Data for further information on indefinite-life intangible assets.
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We review our ships and other long-lived assets for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate, based on recent and projected cash flow performance and remaining useful lives, that the carrying value of these assets may not be fully recoverable. We evaluate asset impairment at the lowest level for which identifiable cash flows are largely independent of the cash flows of other assets and liabilities. The lowest level for which we maintain identifiable cash flows that are independent of the cash flows of other assets and liabilities is at the ship level for our ships. If estimated undiscounted future cash flows are less than the carrying value of an asset, an impairment charge is recognized to the extent its carrying value exceeds fair value. Refer to Note 6. Property and Equipment to our consolidated financial statements under Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplemental Data for further information on determination of fair value for long-lived assets.
We estimate fair value based on quoted market prices in active markets, if available. If active markets are not available, we base fair value on independent appraisals, sales price negotiations and projected future cash flows discounted at a rate estimated by management to be commensurate with the business risk. Quoted market prices are often not available for individual reporting units and for indefinite-life intangible assets. Accordingly, we estimate the fair value of a reporting unit and an indefinite-life intangible asset using an expected present value technique.
As a result of our voluntary suspension of global cruise operations effective March 2020 in response to the COVID-19 outbreak and our gradual resumption of cruise operations during 2021, we performed interim impairment evaluations, in addition to our annual impairment reviews, of certain of our goodwill, indefinite-lived intangible assets and long-lived assets in connection with the preparation of our 2021 and 2020 quarterly and annual financial statements, as further discussed below.
Royal Caribbean International Reporting Unit
We performed interim impairment evaluations of Royal Caribbean International’s goodwill in connection with the preparation of our quarterly financial statements for the periods ended March 31, 2020 and June 30, 2020 due to the significant impact that COVID-19 had on our projected cash flows and triggering events identified in those quarters.The fair value of the Royal Caribbean International reporting unit as of March 31, 2020 was determined using a probability-weighted discounted cash flow model and for June 30, 2020 we used a probability-weighted discounted cash flow model in combination with a market-based valuation approach. As a result of the tests, we determined that the fair value of the Royal Caribbean International reporting unit exceeded its carrying value by approximately 30% and 8% as of March 31, 2020 and June 30, 2020, respectively, resulting in no impairment to the Royal Caribbean International goodwill in those periods. We did not perform an interim impairment evaluation of Royal Caribbean International's goodwill subsequent to the quarter ended June 30, 2020 during 2020 or 2021, as no triggering events were identified.
During the fourth quarters of 2021 and 2020, we performed our annual impairment review of goodwill for Royal Caribbean International's reporting unit. We did not perform qualitative assessments but instead proceeded directly to the goodwill impairment tests. As of November 30, 2021, the fair value of the Royal Caribbean International reporting unit was determined using a discounted cash flow model in combination with a market-based valuation approach. As November 30, 2020, we used a probability-weighted discounted cash flow model in combination with a market-based valuation approach. As a result of the tests, we determined the fair value of the Royal Caribbean International reporting unit exceeded its carrying value by approximately 38% and 14% as of November 30, 2021 and 2020, respectively, resulting in no impairment to Royal Caribbean International's goodwill. The carrying value of goodwill attributable to our Royal Caribbean reporting unit was $296.5 million and $296.6 million as of December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively.
Silversea Cruises Reporting Unit
We performed interim impairment evaluations of Silversea Cruises’ goodwill and trade name in connection with the preparation of our financial statements for the quarter ended March 31, 2020. As a result of these analyses, we determined that the carrying value of the Silversea Cruises reporting unit exceeded its fair value. Similarly, we determined that the carrying value of Silversea Cruises’ trade name exceeded its fair value. Accordingly, upon the completion of the impairment tests, we recognized impairment charges of $576.2 million and $30.8 million for goodwill and the trade name, respectively, during the quarter ended March 31, 2020. We estimated the fair value of the Silversea Cruises reporting unit using a probability-weighted discounted cash flow model in combination with a market-based valuation approach. We did not perform an interim impairment evaluation of Silversea Cruises's goodwill or trade names subsequent to the quarter ended March 31, 2020 during 2020 or 2021, as no triggering events were identified.
During the fourth quarters of 2021 and 2020, we performed our annual impairment review of Silversea Cruises goodwill. We did not perform qualitative assessments but instead proceeded directly to the goodwill impairment tests. As of November 30, 2021, the fair value of the Silversea Cruises reporting unit was determined using a discounted cash flow model in combination with a market-based valuation approach. As of November 30, 2020, we used a probability-weighted discounted cash flow model in combination with a market-based valuation approach. As a result of the tests, we determined the fair value
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of the Silversea Cruises reporting unit exceeded its carrying value by approximately 35% and 12% as of November 30, 2021 and 2020, respectively, resulting in no impairment to Silversea Cruises' goodwill. The carrying value of goodwill attributable to our Silversea Cruises reporting unit was $508.6 million as of December 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020.
During the fourth quarters of 2021 and 2020, we performed our annual impairment reviews of Silversea Cruises trade name. As a result of the quantitative tests, we determined that the fair value of the Silversea Cruises' trade name exceeded its carrying value by approximately 19% and 3%, as of November 30, 2021 and November 30, 2020, respectively, resulting in no impairment to Silversea Cruises' trade name.
As of December 31, 2021 and 2020, the carrying value of indefinite-life intangible assets was $321.5 million, which primarily relates to the Silversea Cruises trade name.
Long-lived Assets
Events surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacted the expected undiscounted cash flows of certain of our long-lived assets. We evaluated these assets during the years ended 2021 and 2020 pursuant to our long-lived asset impairment test which resulted in no impairment charges for the year ended December 31, 2021 and $464.2 million of impairment charges during the year ended December 31, 2020 to write down certain ships operated by our Global Brands to their estimated fair values. The amount also includes impairment charges for ships that our Global Brands disposed of during 2020 as well as the three Azamara ships.
We also recorded impairment charges of $171.3 million during the year ended December 31, 2020 for the three ships that we chartered to Pullmantur Holdings prior to the filing of the Pullmantur reorganization. During the quarter ended September 30, 2020, we sold the ships to third parties for amounts approximating their carrying values and no further impairment was recorded. Refer to Note 6. Property and Equipment and Note 7. Other Assets to our consolidated financial statements under Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplemental Data for further information regarding impairment of the ships and Pullmantur's reorganization.
During the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, we also determined that certain construction in progress projects would be reduced in scope or would no longer be completed due to the impact COVID-19 has had on our operations. This led to impairment charges of construction in progress assets of $51.6 million and $91.5 million during 2021 and 2020, respectively, as reported in Property and equipment, net.
In addition, during the year ended December 31, 2020, we identified that the undiscounted cash flows for certain right-of-use assets were less than their carrying values due to the negative impact of COVID-19. We evaluated these assets pursuant to our long-lived asset impairment test, resulting in an impairment charge of $65.9 million to write down these assets to their estimated fair values during the year ended December 31, 2020. For the year ended December 31, 2021, there was no resulting impairment to right-of-use assets.
The combined impairment charge of $55.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, related to construction in progress and other long-lived assets, and $1.5 billion for the year ended December 31, 2020, primarily related to our goodwill, trademarks and trade names, vessels, construction in progress, and right-of-use assets, are reported within Impairment and credit losses within our consolidated statements of comprehensive (loss) income. These impairment assessments and the resulting charges were determined based on management’s current estimates and projections using information through the time of the issuance of these financial statements. The adverse impact that COVID-19 will continue to have on our business, operating results, cash flows and overall financial condition is uncertain and may result in changes to the assumptions used in the impairment tests discussed above, which may result in additional impairments of our goodwill, indefinite-lived intangible assets and long-lived assets in the future. Refer to Risk Factors in Part 1, Item 1A. for further discussion on risks related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Derivative Instruments
We enter into various forward, swap and option contracts to manage our interest rate exposure and to limit our exposure to fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates and fuel prices. These instruments are recorded on the balance sheet at their fair value and the vast majority are designated as hedges. We also use non-derivative financial instruments designated as hedges of our net investment in our foreign operations and investments. Although some of our derivative financial instruments do not qualify for hedge accounting or are not accounted for under hedge accounting, we do not hold or issue derivative financial instruments for trading or other speculative purposes. We account for derivative financial instruments in accordance with authoritative guidance. Refer to Note 2. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies and Note 16. Fair Value Measurements and Derivative Instruments to our consolidated financial statements under Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary
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Data for more information on related authoritative guidance, the Company's hedging programs and derivative financial instruments.
On a regular basis, we enter into foreign currency forward contracts, interest rate swaps, fuel swaps and options with third-party institutions in over-the-counter markets. We estimate the fair value of our foreign currency forward contracts and interest rate swaps using expected future cash flows based on the instruments' contract terms and published forward prices for foreign currency exchange and interest rates. We value floors which are embedded within our interest rate swaps using standard option pricing models with inputs based on the options’ contract terms, such as exercise price and maturity, and readily available market data, such as forward interest rates and interest rate volatility. We apply present value techniques to convert the expected future cash flows to the current fair value of the instruments.
We estimate the fair value of our fuel swaps using expected future cash flows based on the swaps' contract terms and forward prices. We derive forward prices from published forward fuel curves which in turn are based on actual market transactions and published price quotes for similar assets. We apply present value techniques to convert the expected future cash flows to the current fair value of the instruments. We also corroborate our fair value estimates using valuations provided by our counterparties.
We adjust the valuation of our derivative financial instruments to incorporate credit risk.
We believe it is unlikely that materially different estimates for the fair value of our foreign currency forward contracts, interest rate swaps, fuel swaps and options would be derived from other appropriate valuation models using similar assumptions, inputs or conditions suggested by actual historical experience.
The prior suspension of our cruise operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic and our gradual resumption of cruise operations has resulted in reductions to our forecasted fuel purchases. During the year ended December 31, 2021, we discontinued cash flow hedge accounting on 0.2 million metric tons of our fuel swap agreements maturing in 2021 and 2022, which resulted in the reclassification of a net $0.7 million loss from Accumulated other comprehensive loss to Other income (expense). During the year ended December 31, 2020, we discontinued cash flow hedge accounting on 0.6 million metric tons of our fuel swap agreements maturing in 2020 and 2021, which resulted in the reclassification of a net $104.4 million loss from Accumulated other comprehensive loss to Other income (expense). Changes in the fair value of fuel swaps for which cash flow hedge accounting was discontinued are currently recognized in Other income (expense) each reporting period through the maturity dates of the fuel swaps.
Future suspension of our operations or modifications to our itineraries may affect our expected forecasted fuel purchases which could result in further discontinuance of fuel swap cash flow hedge accounting and the reclassification of deferred gains or losses from Accumulated other comprehensive loss into earnings. Refer to Risk Factors in Part 1, Item 1A. for further discussion on risks related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Contingencies—Litigation
On an ongoing basis, we assess the potential liabilities related to any lawsuits or claims brought against us. While it is typically difficult to determine the timing and ultimate outcome of such actions, we use our best judgment to determine if it is probable that we will incur an expense related to the settlement or final adjudication of such matters and whether a reasonable estimation of such probable loss, if any, can be made. In assessing probable losses, we take into consideration estimates of the amount of insurance recoveries, if any, which are recorded as assets when recoverability is probable. We accrue a liability when we believe a loss is probable and the amount of loss can be reasonably estimated. Due to the inherent uncertainties related to the eventual outcome of litigation and potential insurance recoveries, it is possible that certain matters may be resolved for amounts materially different from any provisions or disclosures that we have previously made.
Seasonality
Our revenues are seasonal based on demand for cruises. Demand is strongest for cruises during the Northern Hemisphere's summer months and holidays. In order to mitigate the impact of the winter weather in the Northern Hemisphere and to capitalize on the summer season in the Southern Hemisphere, our brands have focused on deployment to the Caribbean, Asia and Australia during that period.
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Financial Presentation
Description of Certain Line Items
Revenues
Our revenues are comprised of the following:
•Passenger ticket revenues, which consist of revenue recognized from the sale of passenger tickets and the sale of air transportation to and from our ships; and
•Onboard and other revenues, which consist primarily of revenues from the sale of goods and/or services onboard our ships not included in passenger ticket prices, cancellation fees, sales of vacation protection insurance, pre- and post-cruise tours and fees for operating certain port facilities. Onboard and other revenues also include revenues we receive from independent third party concessionaires that pay us a percentage of their revenues in exchange for the right to provide selected goods and/or services onboard our ships, as well as revenues received for our bareboat charter, procurement and management related services we perform on behalf of our unconsolidated affiliates.
Cruise Operating Expenses
Our cruise operating expenses are comprised of the following:
•Commissions, transportation and other expenses, which consist of those costs directly associated with passenger ticket revenues, including travel advisor commissions, air and other transportation expenses, port costs that vary with passenger head counts and related credit card fees;
•Onboard and other expenses, which consist of the direct costs associated with onboard and other revenues, including the costs of products sold onboard our ships, vacation protection insurance premiums, costs associated with pre- and post-cruise tours and related credit card fees as well as the minimal costs associated with concession revenues, as the costs are mostly incurred by third-party concessionaires and costs incurred for the procurement and management related services we perform on behalf of our unconsolidated affiliates;
•Payroll and related expenses, which consist of costs for shipboard personnel (costs associated with our shoreside personnel are included in Marketing, selling and administrative expenses);
•Food expenses, which include food costs for both guests and crew;
•Fuel expenses, which include fuel and related delivery, storage and emission consumable costs and the financial impact of fuel swap agreements; and
•Other operating expenses, which consist primarily of operating costs such as repairs and maintenance, port costs that do not vary with passenger head counts, vessel related insurance, entertainment and gains and/or losses related to the sale of our ships, if any.
We do not allocate payroll and related expenses, food expenses, fuel expenses or other operating expenses to the expense categories attributable to passenger ticket revenues or onboard and other revenues since they are incurred to provide the total cruise vacation experience.
Selected Operational and Financial Metrics
We utilize a variety of operational and financial metrics which are defined below to evaluate our performance and financial condition. As discussed in more detail herein, certain of these metrics are non-GAAP financial measures. These non-GAAP financial measures are provided along with the related GAAP financial measures as we believe they provide useful information to investors as a supplement to our consolidated financial statements, which are prepared and presented in accordance with GAAP. The presentation of non-GAAP financial information is not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for, or superior to, the financial information prepared and presented in accordance with GAAP.
Adjusted (Loss) Earnings per Share ("Adjusted EPS") represents Adjusted Net (Loss) Income attributable to Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (as defined below) divided by weighted average shares outstanding or by diluted weighted average shares outstanding, as applicable. We believe that this non-GAAP measure is meaningful when assessing our performance on a comparative basis.
Adjusted Net (Loss) Income attributable to Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. represents net (loss) income less net income attributable to noncontrolling interest excluding certain items that we believe adjusting for is meaningful when assessing our
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performance on a comparative basis. For the periods presented, these items included (i) loss on the extinguishment of debt; (ii) the amortization of non-cash debt discount on our convertible notes; (iii) the estimated cash refund expected to be paid to Pullmantur guests and other expenses incurred as part of the Pullmantur S.A. reorganization; (iv) impairment and credit losses recognized as a result of the impact of COVID-19; (v) equity investment asset impairments; (vi) net insurance recoveries related to the collapse of the drydock structure at the Grand Bahama Shipyard involving Oasis of the Seas, or for 2019, incidental costs, net of insurance recoveries, related to drydock structure incidents Grand Bahama Shipyard; (vii) restructuring charges incurred in relation to the reduction in our U.S. workforce and other initiative expenses, and the reorganization of our international sales and marketing structure in 2019; (viii) the change in the fair value in the Silversea Cruises contingent consideration, the amortization of the Silversea Cruises intangible assets resulting from our acquisition of a 66.7% interest in Silversea Cruises in 2018, and transaction and integration costs related to the 2018 Silversea Cruises acquisition; (ix) the noncontrolling interest adjustment to exclude the impact of the contractual accretion requirements associated with the put option held by Heritage Cruise Holding Ltd. (previously known as Silversea Cruises Group Ltd.) noncontrolling interest in Silversea Cruises, which noncontrolling interest we acquired on July 9, 2020; (x) the net gain recognized in the first quarter of 2021 in relation to the sale of the Azamara brand; (xi) currency translation losses recognized during the second quarter of 2020, in connection with the ships classified as assets held-for-sale that were previously chartered to Pullmantur; and, (xii) the net loss recognized in the fourth quarter of 2021 related to the elimination of the three-month reporting lag for Silversea Cruises.
Available Passenger Cruise Days ("APCD") is our measurement of capacity and represents double occupancy per cabin multiplied by the number of cruise days for the period, which excludes canceled cruise days and cabins not available for sale. We use this measure to perform capacity and rate analysis to identify our main non-capacity drivers that cause our cruise revenue and expenses to vary.
Occupancy ("Load factor"), in accordance with cruise vacation industry practice, occupancy is calculated by dividing Passenger Cruise Days (as defined below) by APCD. A percentage in excess of 100% indicates that three or more passengers occupied some cabins.
Passenger Cruise Days represent the number of passengers carried for the period multiplied by the number of days of their respective cruises.
Although discussed in prior periods, we do not disclose or reconcile in this report our Gross Yields, Net Yields, Gross Cruise Costs, Net Cruise Costs and Net Cruise Costs Excluding Fuel, as defined in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019. Historically, we have utilized these financial metrics to measure relevant rate comparisons to other periods. However, our 2020 and 2021 reduction in capacity and revenues and the shift in the nature of our running costs, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our operations, do not allow for a meaningful analysis and comparison of these metrics and as such these metrics have been excluded from this report.
Recent Developments: COVID-19
Return to Healthy Sailing
We have restarted our global cruise operations in a phased manner, following our voluntary suspension of global cruise operations that commenced in March of 2020 in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. Our return to service efforts incorporate our enhanced health and safety protocols, and the requirements of regulatory agencies, which has resulted in reduced guest occupancy, modified itineraries and vaccination protocols.
By the end of December 2021, we operated 50 of our Global and Partner Brand ships, representing over 85% of worldwide capacity, and carried approximately 1.3 million guests since we resumed operations.
Uncertainties remain as to the specifics, timing and costs of administering and implementing our health and safety measures, some of which may be significant. Based on our assessment of these requirements and recommendations, the status of COVID-19 infection, and its variants, and/or vaccination rates in the U.S. or globally or for other reasons, we may determine it necessary to cancel or modify certain of our Global Brands’ cruise sailings. We believe the impact to our global bookings resulting from COVID-19 will continue to have a material negative impact on our results of operations and liquidity, which may be prolonged beyond containment of the disease and its variants. See Part I. Item 1. Business - Regulation for an update on the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's ("CDC") Framework for Conditional Sailing Order.
Continued fleet ramp-up
We experienced service disruptions and cancelled several sailings in the first quarter of 2022 due to the impact from the Omicron variant ("Omicron"). Service disruptions have abated as COVID-19 cases have declined. Despite these service disruptions and cancellations, the overall trajectory of our return to service remains unchanged. We expect that by the end of the first quarter of 2022, 53 out of 62 of our Global and Partner Brand ships, including Wonder of the Seas, which was delivered in
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January 2022, will have been brought back to service. Additionally, we expect that the rest of the fleet will return to operations before the summer season.
We expect load factors in the first quarter of 2022 to be lower than initially anticipated due to the Omicron impact on bookings and cancellations, particularly on January sailings. As such, we anticipate load factors on core itineraries of approximately 60% during the first quarter of 2022, with sequential monthly improvement, and approximately 7.7 million APCDs for the first quarter of 2022. Core itineraries exclude sailings during the early ramp-up period of up to four weeks and exclude new itineraries implemented during the COVID period. Additionally, we expect total cash flow from ships in operation in the first quarter to be positive.
Update on Bookings
We experienced a softening in booking volumes and an increase in near-term cancellations as a result of the significant short-term disruptions experienced by the travel industry due to Omicron. The disruptions intensified during the holiday season and in early January with the spread of the variant.
Load factors for sailings in the first half of 2022 are expected to remain below historical levels, consistent with our return to service schedule, which includes the Omicron impact. Load factors for sailings in the second half of 2022 continue to be booked within historical ranges, at higher prices with and without FCCs. We have observed cancellations subside and bookings improve to pre-Omicron levels, and we have adjusted our sales and marketing efforts in anticipation of a delayed and extended WAVE period.
As of December 31, 2021, we had approximately $3.2 billion in customer deposits. Approximately 32% of the customer deposit balance as of December 31, 2021 is related to FCCs compared to 35% of the customer deposit balance as of September 30, 2021, a positive trend indicating new demand.
Update on Recent Liquidity Actions and Ongoing Uses of Cash
As of December 31, 2021, we had liquidity of approximately $3.5 billion in the form of cash and cash equivalents of $2.7 billion, $0.1 billion of undrawn revolving credit facility capacity, and a $0.7 billion commitment for a 364-day term loan facility available to draw on at any time prior to August 12, 2022. Our revolving credit facilities were mostly utilized through a combination of amounts drawn and letters of credit issued under the facilities as of December 31, 2021. We temporarily applied the net proceeds of the $1.0 billion January 2022 Unsecured Notes to repay borrowings under our revolving credit facilities, bringing our undrawn revolving credit facility capacity to $1.1 billion as of the date of the issuance of this report, from $0.1 billion as of December 31, 2021. We continue to prioritize and bolster liquidity while taking steps to improve our balance sheet and reduce our interest costs to be well positioned for recovery.
Reduced Operating Expenses
We took significant actions in early 2020 to reduce operating expenses during the suspension of our global cruise operations. In particular, we:
•significantly reduced ship operating expenses, including crew payroll, food, fuel, insurance and port charges;
•further reduced operating expenses as the Company’s ships were transitioned into various levels of layup with several ships in the fleet transitioning into cold layup;
•significantly reduced marketing and selling expenses;
•reduced and furloughed our workforce, with approximately 23% of our US shoreside employee base being impacted in 2020; and
•suspended travel for shoreside employees and instituted a hiring freeze across the organization.
During our ramp up of operations, we have incurred and will continue to incur incremental spend related to bringing ships back to operating status, returning crew members to ships and implementing enhanced health and safety protocols. We also collected and will continue to collect deposits related to those sailings and for future cruises. We take into account a number of variables in determining when to bring ships back into service, including deployment opportunities, commercial potential, cost of operations and cash flow.
Capital Expenditures
COVID-19 has impacted shipyard operations, which have delayed and may continue to result in delays of our previously contracted ship deliveries. As of December 31, 2021, we anticipate that overall full year capital expenditures, based on our
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existing ships on order, will be approximately $3.1 billion for 2022. This amount does not include any ships on order by our Partner Brands. We took delivery of Wonder of the Seas during the first quarter of 2022 and expect delivery of Celebrity Beyond during the second quarter of 2022. For 2023, we have three ship deliveries scheduled: Icon of the Seas, Celebrity Ascent and Silver Nova.
Debt Maturities, New Financings and Other Liquidity Actions
During the year ended December 31, 2021, we continued to take actions to further improve our liquidity position and manage cash flow. In particular, we:
• extended the maturity date or termination date, as applicable, of certain of the advances and commitments held by consenting lenders under our $1.0 billion unsecured term loan due April 2022 and our $1.55 billion unsecured revolving credit facility due October 2022, each by 18 months to October 2023 and April 2024, respectively;
•extended the period during which we may draw upon our binding commitment for a $700.0 million 364-day term loan facility by one year, which is now available for draw at any time prior to August 12, 2022;
•issued $1.50 billion of 5.5% senior unsecured notes due in 2028 for net proceeds of approximately $1.48 billion, which were used to repay principal payments on debt maturing or required to be paid in 2021 and 2022, with the remaining for general corporate purposes;
•issued $650.0 million of 4.25% senior unsecured notes due in 2026 for net proceeds of approximately $640.6 million, which were used to fully repay the Silversea Notes, in the amount of $619.8 million, and to pay the related call premiums, accrued interest and fees;
•issued $1.0 billion of 5.50% senior notes due in 2026 for net proceeds of approximately $986.0 million, which were used to replenish our capital as a result of the redemption of a portion of the 11.50% senior secured notes due 2025 in the amount of $928.0 million, and to pay the related premiums and accrued interest;
•amended the credit agreements for the unsecured financings of our first and second Evolution-class ships, increasing their maximum loan amounts by €175.6 million in the aggregate (or approximately $199.7 million based on the exchange rate at December 31, 2021), to finance ship design modifications that incorporate innovative sustainability features and additional premium cabins;
•issued 16.9 million shares of common stock for approximately $1.5 billion;
•amended $4.9 billion of our non-export-credit facilities and certain of our credit card processing agreements to extend the waiver of the financial covenants through and including the third quarter of 2022 and to implement modified covenants for the period starting fourth quarter of 2022 and extending through and including the fourth quarter of 2023;
•amended $6.3 billion of our export-credit facilities to extend the waiver of the financial covenants through and including the fourth quarter of 2022 and defer $1.15 billion of principal payments due between April 2021 and April 2022; and
•amended $7.3 billion of outstanding export-credit financing plus committed export-credit facilities to modify financial covenant levels for 2023 and 2024, following the waiver period through and including the fourth quarter of 2022.
Refer to Note 8. Debt, Note 10. Shareholders' Equity, andNote 17. Commitments and Contingencies, to our consolidated financial statements under Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplemental Data for further information on these financing transactions and our debt covenants.
Expected debt maturities for 2022 are $2.2 billion. We continue to identify and evaluate further actions to enhance our liquidity and support our recovery. These include and are not limited to further reductions in capital expenditures, operating expenses and administrative costs and additional financings and refinancings.
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Executive Overview
While 2021 proved to be another challenging year for our company and industry, it also marked our successful return to service. Starting in June, we began our return to cruising with 50 ships back in service by year end, representing more than 85% of our capacity. We delivered safe and memorable experiences to approximately 1.3 million guests at record guest satisfaction scores.
The out-of-service period in the first half of the year, the costs of returning our ships and crew to operations, the revamping of sales and marketing and the costs to execute on health protocols all had a significant impact on our financial results. Although we generated a fraction of normal revenue levels in 2021, total revenue per passenger cruise day in the fourth quarter was up 10% compared to record 2019 levels. The increase was driven by strong onboard revenue performance seen across every revenue stream.
Since resuming operations, our focus has been on the safety and well-being of our guests and crew. As Delta and Omicron variants started to spread, they created short-term operational challenges as well as an increase in cancellations. However, our health and safety protocols, including our crew and guest vaccination requirements, proved to be successful as only 0.19% of our guests tested positive for COVID-19. As infection rates decline and localities lift COVID-19 protocols, we will continue to work closely with health authorities to maintain protocols that promote the health and safety of our guests, crew, and communities we visit. As part of this commitment, we have opted-in to the CDC’s new voluntary program in the “Highly Vaccinated Ship” category for health and safety protocols.
During 2021, we remained focused on managing costs, improving our balance sheet and preserving liquidity. We ended the year with approximately $3.5 billion in liquidity, which includes cash and cash equivalents, undrawn revolving credit facility capacity, and a $0.7 billion commitment for a loan facility. We re-established access to unsecured debt markets and successfully refinanced $2.3 billion of secured or guaranteed high coupon debt, in some instances reducing the coupon by up to 600 basis points. Given the current environment and anticipated inflationary pressures, we continue to take numerous actions to reshape our cost structure, with a goal of further improving upon our leading pre-COVID margins.
New hardware is a key pillar to supporting our recovery and a driver of quality demand and financial performance. This past year we successfully took delivery of Celebrity Apex, Odyssey of the Seas and Silver Dawn, all poised to significantly contribute to our yield growth, profitability, and cash generation. Additionally, we look forward to welcoming two new ships in 2022, Wonder of the Seas and Celebrity Beyond. We expect to return the full fleet before the summer season of 2022 and load factors to reach pre-COVID levels in the third quarter. Although Omicron has caused service disruptions, several cancelled sailings and a likely delay in our return to profitability by a few months, we currently expect to be generating net income in the second half of 2022.
As we focus on setting the foundation for a strong recovery and long-term profitable growth, we remain driven to innovate our product and maintain a strong competitive advantage. We finished the year stronger than we started and continue to manage the challenges related to Omicron, as well as search for further operational opportunities on our journey back to financial health.
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Results of Operations
In addition to the items discussed above under "Executive Overview," significant items for 2021 include:
•Our Net Loss attributable to Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. and Adjusted Net Loss attributable to Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. for the year ended December 31, 2021 was $(5.3) billion and $(4.8) billion, or $(20.89) and $(19.19) per share on a diluted basis, respectively, as compared to Net Loss attributable to Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. and Adjusted Net Loss attributable to Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. of $(5.8) billion and $(3.9) billion, or $(27.05) and $(18.31) per share on a diluted basis, respectively, for the year ended December 31, 2020.
•Total revenues, excluding the effect of changes in foreign currency rates, decreased by $686.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to the same period in 2020 resulting from a 52.6% decrease in occupancy in 2021 while we gradually returned to service compared to 2020 when the majority of our fleet was operational up through our global suspension in March of 2020.
•The effect of changes in foreign currency exchange rates related to our passenger ticket and onboard and other revenue transactions, denominated in currencies other than the United States dollar, resulted in an increase in total revenues of $9.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to the same period in 2020.
•Total cruise operating expenses, excluding the effect of changes in foreign currency rate, decreased by $114.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to the same period in 2020, which reflects the decrease in occupancy mentioned above.
•The effect of changes in foreign currency exchange rates related to our cruise operating expenses, denominated in currencies other than the United States dollar, resulted in an increase in total operating expenses of $7.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to the same period in 2020.
•During the year ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, as a result of ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our operations and cash flows, we recorded total impairment and credit losses of $82.0 million and $1.6 billion, respectively, related to long-lived assets and credit losses related to our notes receivable, net of recoveries, in 2021, and to goodwill, trademarks and trade names, long-lived assets, including right-of-use assets, and credit losses related to our notes receivable in 2020.
•Effective October 1, 2021, we eliminated the Silversea Cruises three-month reporting lag to be consistent with the fiscal calendar of the Company. The effect of this change was an increase to net loss of $62.6 million, or a $0.25 per share loss on a basic and diluted basis, and this amount is reported within Other (expense) income in our consolidated statements of comprehensive income (loss) for the year ended December 31, 2021. Refer to Note 1. General to our consolidated financial statements under Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data for further information on the elimination of the Silversea Cruises reporting lag.
•During the year ended December 31, 2021, we executed and amended various financing arrangements. Refer to Note 8. Debt and Note 10. Shareholders' Equity, to our consolidated financial statements under Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplemental Data for further information on our 2021 financing activity.
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We reported Net (Loss) Income attributable to Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., Adjusted Net (Loss) Income attributable to Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., (Loss) Earnings per Share and Adjusted (Loss) Earnings per Share as shown in the following table (in thousands, except per share data):
Year Ended December 31,
Adjustments to Net (Loss) Income attributable to Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.:
Convertible debt amortization of debt discount (2) 104,291 46,546 —
Pullmantur reorganization settlement (3) 10,242 21,637 —
Net gain related to the sale of Azamara brand (10) (3,371) — —
Currency translation adjustment losses (11) — 69,044 —
Basic:
Adjusted (Loss) Earnings per Share $ (19.19) $ (18.31) $ 9.56
Diluted:
Adjusted (Loss) Earnings per Share $ (19.19) $ (18.31) $ 9.54
Weighted-Average Shares Outstanding:
(1) In 2021, represents the net loss on the partial repayment of the 11.50% senior secured notes due 2025, the net gain on the full repayment of the Silversea Notes and the loss on the partial repayment of the $1.55 billion unsecured revolving credit facility. In 2020, represents the loss on the extinguishment of the $2.2 billion Senior Secured Term Loan. In 2019, represents the loss on the extinguishment of the $700 million 364-day loan related to the 2018 Silversea Cruises acquisition and the remaining balance of the unsecured term loan originally incurred in 2010 to purchase Allure of the Seas.
(2) Represents the amortization of non-cash debt discount on our convertible notes.
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(3) Represents estimated cash refunds expected to be paid to Pullmantur guests and other expenses incurred as part of the Pullmantur S.A. reorganization.
(4) In 2021 and 2020, represents asset impairment and credit losses as a result of the impact of COVID-19. In 2021, amounts are net of the recovery of credit losses recognized in 2020.
(5) Represents equity investment asset impairment, primarily for our investments in TUI Cruises GmbH, in 2021 and Grand Bahama Shipyard in 2020, as a result of the impact of COVID-19.
(6) In 2021 and 2020, amounts include net insurance recoveries related to the collapse of the drydock structure at the Grand Bahama Shipyard involving Oasis of the Seas. In 2019, amount includes incidental costs, net of insurance recoveries, of $14.5 million related to the collapse of the drydock structure at the Grand Bahama Shipyard involving Oasis of the Seas, which were reported primarily within Other operating expenses in our consolidated statements of comprehensive (loss) income for the year ended December 31, 2019; and $20.7 million regarding the Grand Bahama incident involving one of its drydocks, included in Equity investment income (loss) within our consolidated statements of comprehensive income (loss) for the year ended December 31, 2019.
(7) Represents primarily restructuring charges incurred in relation to the reduction in our U.S. workforce and other initiatives expenses in 2020 and 2021. Refer to Note 18. Restructuring Charges to our consolidated financial statements under item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data for further information on the restructuring activities. In 2019, represents primarily the reorganization of our international sales and marketing structure.
(8) Related to the 2018 Silversea Cruises acquisition. Refer to Note 1. General to our consolidated financial statements under Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data for information on the Silversea Cruises acquisition.
(9) Adjustment made to exclude the impact of the contractual accretion requirements associated with the put option held by Heritage Cruise Holding Ltd.'s (previously known as Silversea Cruises Group Ltd.) noncontrolling interest, which noncontrolling interest we acquired on July 9, 2020.
(10) Represents the net gain recognized in the first quarter of 2021 in relation to the sale of the Azamara brand.
(11) Represents currency translation losses recognized in connection with the ships sold in 2020 that were previously chartered to Pullmantur. Refer to Note 7. Other Assets to our consolidated financial statements under Item 1. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data for further information.
(12) Represents the net loss related to the elimination of the Silversea Cruises reporting lag.
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The following table presents operating results as a percentage of total revenues for the last three years:
Year Ended December 31,
Passenger ticket revenues 61.4 % 68.1 % 71.7 %
Onboard and other revenues 38.6 % 31.9 % 28.3 %
Cruise operating expenses:
Commissions, transportation and other 13.5 % 15.6 % 15.1 %
Onboard and other 7.6 % 7.1 % 5.8 %
Marketing, selling and administrative expenses 89.4 % 54.3 % 14.2 %
Depreciation and amortization expenses 84.4 % 57.9 % 11.4 %
Impairment and credit losses 5.4 % 70.9 % — %
Other income (expense):
Interest income 1.1 % 1.0 % 0.2 %
Interest expense, net of interest capitalized (84.3) % (38.2) % (3.7) %
Equity investment (loss) income (8.8) % (9.7) % 2.1 %
Other income (expense) 1.3 % (6.2) % (0.2) %
Less: Net Income attributable to noncontrolling interest — % 1.0 % 0.3 %
Selected statistical information is shown in the following table:
Year Ended December 31,
___________________________________________________________________
(1)Due to the elimination of the Silversea Cruises three-month reporting lag in October of 2021, we include Silversea Cruises' metrics from October 1, 2020 through June 30, 2021 and October 1 through December 31, 2021 in the year ended December 31, 2021. The year ended December 31, 2021 does not include July, August, and September 2021 statistics as Silversea Cruises' results of operations for those months are included within Other (expense) income in our consolidated statements of comprehensive loss for the year ended December 31, 2021. Refer to Note 1. General to our consolidated financial statements under Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data for more information on the three-month reporting lag.
(2) Due to the three-month reporting lag effective through September 30, 2021, we include Silversea Cruises' metrics from October 1, 2019 through September 30, 2020 in the year ended December 31, 2020 and from October 1, 2018 through September 30, 2019 in the year ended December 31, 2019.
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(3) For the year ended December, 31, 2021, we include Azamara Cruises' metrics through March 19, 2021, the effective sale date of the brand. Refer to Note 1. General to our consolidated financial statements under Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data for more information on the sale of the Azamara Cruises brand.
Outlook
The Company’s operations are still impacted by COVID-19 and its related variants. The adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our revenues, consolidated results of operations, cash flows and financial condition has been and will continue to be material in 2022. We expect to incur a net loss on both a U.S. GAAP and adjusted basis for the first quarter and the first half of 2022 and a return to profitability in the second half of 2022. See Recent Developments: COVID-19 – Continued Fleet Ramp-Up and Update on Bookings for further indications on our resumption of operations and the booking environment.
Year Ended December 31, 2021 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2020
In this section, references to 2021 refer to the year ended December 31, 2021 and references to 2020 refer to the year ended December 31, 2020.
Revenues
Total revenues for 2021 decreased $0.7 billion, or 30.6%, to $1.5 billion from $2.2 billion in 2020.
Passenger ticket revenues comprised 61.4% of our 2021 total revenues. Passenger ticket revenues decreasedby $0.6 billion, or 37.4% from 2020. The decrease in Passenger ticket reflects a 52.6% decrease in occupancy for the period in 2021 during which we gradually returned to service compared to occupancy during 2020 when we operated the majority of our fleet, up through our global suspension in March of 2020.
The decrease to Passenger ticket revenues was slightly offset by the $5.0 million favorable effect of changes in foreign currency exchange rates related to our revenues in currencies other than the United States dollar.
The remaining 38.6% of 2021 total revenues was comprised of Onboard and other revenues, which decreased $0.1 billion, or 16.1%. This decrease was primarily due to the 52.6% decrease in occupancy noted above and a decrease in cancellation fees in 2021. These decreases more than offset a strong onboard revenue per passenger cruise day performance during our gradual resumption of operations in 2021 as well as the favorable effect of changes in foreign currency exchange rates related to our Onboard and other revenues denominated in currencies other than the United States dollar of $4.5 million.
Onboard and other revenues included concession revenues of $72.0 million in 2021 and $76.0 million in 2020.
Cruise Operating Expenses
Total Cruise operating expenses for 2021 decreased $0.1 billion, or 3.9%, to $2.7 billion in 2021 from $2.8 billion in 2020. The decrease was primarily due to a $137.1 million decrease in Commissions, transportation and other expenses and a $40.3 million decrease in Onboard and other expenses due to the decrease in revenues and occupancy noted above.
The decrease in Cruise operating expenses was partially offset by an increase on Payroll and related expenses of $49.8 million due to our return to service during 2021, and the unfavorable effect of changes in foreign currency exchange rates related to our expense transactions denominated in currencies other than the United States dollar of $7.3 million.
Marketing, Selling and Administrative Expenses
Marketing, selling and administrative expenses for 2021 increased $170.5 million, or 14.2% to $1.4 billion from $1.2 billion in 2020. The increase is due to the ramp up of our global sales and marketing efforts in the second half of 2021 as we commenced our resumption of operations.
Depreciation and Amortization Expenses
Depreciation and amortization expenses for 2021 increased $13.6 million, or 1.1%, to $1.3 billion. The increase was primarily due to the addition of Odyssey of the Seas to our fleet in the first quarter of 2021, a full year of depreciation in 2021 for Celebrity Apex, Silver Moon and Silver Origin which were added to our fleet during 2020, and to a lesser extent, the addition of Silver Dawn to our fleet in the fourth quarter of 2021. The increases in depreciation in 2021 were partially offset by lower depreciation resulting from vessel disposals and asset impairments during 2020 and 2021.
Impairment and Credit Losses
For the year ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, as a result of the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our operations and cash flows, we recorded total impairment and credit losses of $82.0 million and $1.6 billion, respectively,
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primarily related to construction in progress, other long-lived assets and credit loss allowances related to our notes receivable in 2021, and to our goodwill, trademarks and trade names, vessels, construction in progress, right-of-use assets and credit loss allowances related to our notes receivable in 2020.
Other Income (Expense)
Interest expense, net of interest capitalized, increased $447.5 million, or 53.0%, to $1.3 billion in 2021 from $844.2 million in 2020. The increase was primarily due to new debt issuances in 2021 and 2020, a higher average balance on our revolver debt and a loss on extinguishment of debt of $138.8 million.
Equity investment (loss) improved by $77.8 million, or 36.5%, to a loss of $135.5 million in 2021 from a loss of $213.3 million in 2020 mainly due to decreased losses reported by our equity investments as a result of their return to operations during 2021 and receipt of local government grants by one of our equity investments.
Other income was $20.3 million in 2021 compared to Other expense of $137.1 million in 2020. The improvement of $157.4 million includes an increase in income of $110.6 million related to the change in the fair value of fuel swap derivative instruments that are not designated under hedge accounting, a one-time $14.4 million tax benefit recognized in 2021, and a $13.8 million decrease in foreign exchange losses from the remeasurement of monetary assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currency compared to 2020. Additionally in 2020, we recognized a deferred currency translation adjustment loss of $69.0 million related to the Pullmantur brand as we no longer have significant involvement in Pullmantur's operations, which did not recur in 2021, and a $20.0 million expense representing the cash refund expected to be paid to Pullmantur guests as part of the brand's reorganization, compared to a $5.0 million expense in 2021. The 2021 increases in income were partially offset by a $62.6 million loss recognized in 2021 resulting from the elimination of the Silversea Cruises three-month reporting lag effective October 1, 2021.
Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)
Other comprehensive income in 2021 was $28.5 million compared to $58.4 million in 2020. The decrease of $29.9 million in 2021 was primarily due to a decrease in Gain on cash flow derivative hedges in 2021 of $34.0 million. Gain on cash flow derivative hedges decreased in 2021 primarily due to the reclassification of fuel swap gains from Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss into the Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive (Loss) Income in 2021, compared to the reclassification of fuel swap losses during 2020. This decrease was partially offset by a net increase in the fair value of our cash flow derivative hedges, mostly driven by increases in the fair value of our fuel and interest rate swaps in 2021.
Year Ended December 31, 2020 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2019
A discussion of our results of operations for the year ended December 31, 2020 compared to the year ended December 31, 2019 is included in Part II. Item 7 of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, filed with the SEC on February 26, 2021, and is incorporated by reference into this Form 10-K.
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Future Application of Accounting Standards
Refer to Note. 2 Summary of Significant Accounting Policies to our consolidated financial statements under Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data for further information on Recent Accounting Pronouncements.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Sources and Uses of Cash
Net cash (used in) operating activities decreased by $1.9 billion to cash used of $1.9 billion for the year ended December 31, 2021, compared to cash used of $3.7 billion for the same period in 2020. Our gradual resumption of operations in 2021 generated increased guest ticket collections, resulting in an increase of customer deposits of $1.4 billion for the twelve months ended December 31, 2021, compared to a decrease of customer deposits of $1.6 billion during the same period in 2020, during our suspension of global operations. The increase in customer deposits was offset by increased expenses for our vessels that resumed cruise operations in 2021, including start up costs.
Net cash (used in) operating activities was $3.7 billionin 2020 compared to Net cash provided of $3.7 billion in 2019reflecting a change of $7.4 billion in 2020. The 2020 disruptions to our business led to a decrease in collections from our guests as well as an increase of refunds to guests for cancelled sailings during the year ended December 31, 2020 compared to the same period in 2019.
Net cash used in investing activities decreased $33.8 million to cash used of $2.1 billion for the year ended December 31, 2021, compared to cash used of $2.2 billion for the same period in 2020. The decrease in cash used in investing activities was primarily attributable to an increase in proceeds from the sale of property and equipment and other assets of $148.2 million in 2021 compared to 2020, and a decrease in cash paid on settlement of derivative financial instruments of $87.1 million, partially offset by an increase in capital expenditures of $264.6 million mostly due to our purchase of Terminal A at PortMiami in 2021.
Net cash used in investing activities decreased $0.9 billion to cash used $2.2 billion in 2020 compared to cash used $3.1 billion in 2019. The decrease in investing activities was primarily attributable to a decrease in capital expenditures of $1.1 billion.
Net cash provided by financing activities was $3.0 billion in 2021 compared to cash provided of $9.3 billion in 2020. The decrease of $6.3 billion was primarily attributable to higher debt proceeds and issuance of commercial paper notes of $15.8 billion during the twelve months ended December 31, 2020, compared to the same period in 2021, offset by higher debt and commercial paper repayments of $9.0 billion during the twelve months ended December 31, 2020, compared to the same period in 2021. Additionally, dividends paid of $326.4 million during the twelve months ended December 31, 2020, compared to none during the same period in 2021.
Net cash provided by financing activities was $9.3 billion in 2020 compared to Net cash used of $0.7 billion in 2019. The change was primarily attributable to an increase in debt proceeds of $10.0 billion in 2020 compared to the same period in 2019, and $1.4 billion in proceeds from common stock issuances in 2020. These proceeds were partially offset by net repayments of commercial paper of $1.1 billion during the twelve months ended December 31, 2020 compared to net borrowings of commercial paper of $0.6 billion during the same period in 2019.
Future Capital Commitments
Capital Expenditures
Our future capital commitments consist primarily of new ship orders. As of December 31, 2021, we have two Oasis-class ships, and three ships of a new generation, known as our Icon-class, on order for our Royal Caribbean International brand with an aggregate capacity of approximately 28,200 berths. As of December 31, 2021, we have two Edge-class ships on order for our Celebrity Cruises brand, with an aggregate capacity of approximately 6,500 berths. Additionally, as of December 31, 2021, we have two ships on order for our Silversea Cruises brand with an aggregate capacity of approximately 1,460 berths. Refer to Item 1. Business-Operations for further information on our ships on order. We have committed financing arrangements in place covering 80% of the cost of the ship for the nine ships on order for our Global Brands, almost all of which include sovereign financing guarantees. Additionally, we have an agreement in place with Chantiers de l’Atlantique to build an additional Edge-class ship for delivery in 2025, which is contingent upon completion of conditions precedent and financing.
As of December 31, 2021, the aggregate cost of our ships on order, not including any ships on order by our Partner Brands, was approximately $12.4 billion, of which we had deposited $800.2 million as of such date. Approximately 59.0% of the aggregate cost was exposed to fluctuations in the Euro exchange rate at December 31, 2021. Refer to Note 16. Fair Value
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Measurements and Derivative Instruments and Note 17. Commitments and Contingencies to our consolidated financial statements under Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.
Decreased demand for cruising as a result of concerns regarding the COVID-19 pandemic had, and is expected to continue to have, a material impact on our cash flows, liquidity and financial position. In order to preserve liquidity throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, we deferred a significant portion of our planned 2020, 2021 and 2022 capital expenditures. As of December 31, 2021, we anticipate overall full year capital expenditures, based on our existing ships on order, will be approximately $3.1 billion for 2022. These amounts do not include any ships on order by our Partner Brands.
Material Cash Requirements
As of December 31, 2021, our material cash requirements were as follows (in thousands):
Payments due by period
Less than 1-3 3-5 More than
Total 1 year years years 5 years
Operating Activities:
Investing Activities:
Financing Activities:
___________________________________________________________________
(1) We are obligated under noncancelable operating leases primarily for preferred berthing arrangements, real estate and shipboard equipment. Amounts represent contractual obligations with initial terms in excess of one year.
(2) Long-term debt obligations mature at various dates through fiscal year 2033 and bear interest at fixed and variable rates. Interest on variable-rate debt is calculated based on forecasted debt balances, including the impact of interest rate swap agreements, using the applicable rate at December 31, 2021. Debt denominated in other currencies is calculated based on the applicable exchange rate at December 31, 2021.
(3) Amounts primarily represent future commitments with remaining terms in excess of one year to pay for our usage of certain port facilities, marine consumables, services and maintenance contracts.
(4) Amounts are based on contractual installment and delivery dates for our ships on order. Included in these figures are $7.9 billion in final contractual installments, which have committed financing. COVID-19 has impacted shipyard operations which have and may result in delays for our previously contracted ship deliveries. Amounts do not include potential obligations which remain subject to cancellation at our sole discretion or any agreements entered for ships on order that remain contingent upon completion of conditions precedent.
(5) Debt denominated in other currencies is calculated based on the applicable exchange rate at December 31, 2021. In addition, debt obligations presented above are net of debt issuance costs of $363.5 million as of December 31, 2021.
(6) Amounts represent finance lease obligations with initial terms in excess of one year.
(7) Amounts represent fees payable to sovereign guarantors in connection with certain of our export credit debt facilities and facility fees on our revolving credit facilities.
Please refer to Funding Needs and Sources below for discussion on the planned funding of the above material contractual obligations.
As a normal part of our business, depending on market conditions, pricing and our overall growth strategy, we continuously consider opportunities to enter into contracts for the building of additional ships. We may also consider the sale of ships or the purchase of existing ships. We continuously consider potential acquisitions and strategic alliances. If any of these
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were to occur, they would be financed through the incurrence of additional indebtedness, the issuance of additional shares of equity securities or through cash flows from operations.
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
TUI Cruises has entered into various ship construction and credit agreements that include certain restrictions on each of our and TUI AG's ability to reduce our current ownership interest in TUI Cruises below 37.55% through May 2033.
Some of the contracts that we enter into include indemnification provisions that obligate us to make payments to the counterparty if certain events occur. These contingencies generally relate to changes in taxes, increased lender capital costs and other similar costs. The indemnification clauses are often standard contractual terms and are entered into in the normal course of business. There are no stated or notional amounts included in the indemnification clauses and we are not able to estimate the maximum potential amount of future payments, if any, under these indemnification clauses. We have not been required to make any payments under such indemnification clauses in the past and, under current circumstances, we do not believe an indemnification obligation is probable.
In June of 2021, we exercised our option under our operating lease with SMBC Leasing and Finance, Inc (the "Lessor") to purchase Terminal A at PortMiami in July 2021 for the pre-agreed purchase price of $220.0 million. Upon purchase of the terminal lease in July 2021, the underlying asset was recorded as a leasehold improvement within Property and equipment, net. Our July 2021 purchase of the Port of Miami terminal eliminated the residual value guarantee and a requirement under the lease to post $181.1 million of cash collateral on or before July 18, 2021.
Certain of our surety agreements with third party providers for the benefit of certain agencies and associations that provide travel related bonds, allow the sureties to request collateral. We also have agreements with our credit card processors relating to customer deposits received by us for future voyages. These agreements allow the credit card processors to require us, under certain circumstances, including breach of the financial covenants, the existence of other material adverse changes, excessive chargebacks, and other triggering events, to maintain a reserve that can be satisfied by posting collateral. As of December 31, 2021, we have posted letters of credit as collateral with our sureties and credit card processors under our revolving credit facilities in the amount of $193.3 million.
Executed amendments are in place for the majority of our credit card processors, waiving reserve requirements tied to breach of our financial covenants through at least September 30, 2022, with modified covenants thereafter, and as such, we do not anticipate any incremental collateral requirements for the processors covered by these waivers in the next 12 months. We have a reserve with a processor where the agreement was amended in the first quarter of 2021, such that proceeds are held in reserve until the sailing takes place or the funds are refunded to the customer. The maximum projected exposure with the processor, including amounts currently withheld and reported in Trade and other receivables, is approximately $285.0 million. The amount and timing are dependent on future factors that are uncertain, such as the pace of resumption of our cruise operations, the volume of future deposits and whether we transfer our business to other processors. If we require additional waivers on the credit card processing agreements and are not able to obtain them, this could lead to the termination of these agreements or the trigger of reserve requirements.
As of December 31, 2021, other than the items described above, we are not party to any other off-balance sheet arrangements, including guarantee contracts, retained or contingent interest, certain derivative instruments and variable interest entities, that either have, or are reasonably likely to have, a current or future material effect on our financial position.
Funding Needs and Sources
Historically, we relied on a combination of cash flows provided by operations, draw-downs under our available credit facilities, the incurrence of additional debt and/or the refinancing of our existing debt and the issuance of additional shares of equity securities to fund our obligations. The impact of COVID-19 resulted in our voluntary suspension of global cruise operations from March 2020 up to our gradual resumption of operations primarily in 2021. The suspension of operations strained our sources of cash flow and liquidity, causing us to take actions resulting in reductions in our operating expenses, reductions in our capital expenses and new financings and other liquidity actions.
The Company continues to identify and evaluate further actions to improve its liquidity. These include, and are not limited to further reductions in capital expenditures, operating expenses and administrative costs and additional financings. See further discussion on these liquidity actions at Recent Developments - COVID-19.
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We have significant contractual obligations of which our debt service obligations and the capital expenditures associated with our ship purchases represent our largest funding needs. As of December 31, 2021, we had approximately $10.0 billion of committed financing for our ships on order.
As of December 31, 2021, we had $5.8 billion in contractual obligations due through December 31, 2022, of which approximately $2.2 billion relates to debt maturities, $0.9 billion relates to interest on debt and $2.3 billion relates to progress payments on our ship orders and the final installments payable due upon the delivery of Wonder of the Seas and Celebrity Beyond.
As of December 31, 2021, we had liquidity of $3.5 billion, including $0.1 billion of undrawn revolving credit facility capacity, $2.7 billion in cash and cash equivalents, and a $0.7 billion commitment for a 364-day term loan facility available to draw at any time prior to August 12, 2022. As of December 31, 2021, our revolving credit facilities were mostly utilized through a combination of amounts drawn and letters of credit issued under the facilities. We temporarily applied the net proceeds of the $1.0 billion January 2022 Unsecured Notes to repay borrowings under our revolving credit facilities, bringing our undrawn revolving credit facility capacity to $1.1 billion as of the date of the issuance of this report, from $0.1 billion as of December 31, 2021.
We have agreed with certain of our lenders not to pay dividends or engage in stock repurchases. Thereafter, in the event we declare a dividend or engage in stock repurchases we will need to repay the amounts deferred under our export credit facilities. Refer to Note 10. Shareholders' Equity to our consolidated financial statements for further information.
If any person acquires ownership of more than 50% of our common stock or, subject to certain exceptions, during any 24-month period, a majority of our board of directors is no longer comprised of individuals who were members of our board of directors on the first day of such period, we may be obligated to prepay indebtedness outstanding under our credit facilities, which we may be unable to replace on similar terms. Our public debt securities also contain change of control provisions that would be triggered by a third-party acquisition of greater than 50% of our common stock coupled with a ratings downgrade. If this were to occur, it would have an adverse impact on our liquidity and operations.
Based on our assumptions and estimates and our financial condition, we believe that the liquidity resulting from the actions mentioned above will be sufficient to fund our liquidity requirements over at least the next twelve months. However, there is no assurance that our assumptions and estimates are accurate due to possible unknown variables related to this unprecedented suspension of our operations and, as such, there is inherent uncertainty in our ability to predict future liquidity requirements. Refer to Note 1. General, Management’s Plan and Liquidity, to our consolidated financial statements under Item 1. Financial Statements for further information.
Beyond the next 12 months, in June of 2023, approximately $3.2 billion of long-term debt will need to be refinanced in order to maintain the Company's liquidity position.
In February 2022, we entered into certain agreements with Morgan Stanley & Co., LLC (“MS”) where MS agrees to provide backstop committed financing to refinance, repurchase and/or repay in whole or in part our existing and outstanding 10.875% Senior Secured Notes due 2023, 9.125% Priority Guaranteed Notes due 2023, and 4.25% Convertible Notes due 2023. Pursuant to the agreements, we may, at our sole option, issue and sell to MS (subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions) five-year senior unsecured notes with gross proceeds of up to $3.15 billion at any time between April 1, 2023 and June 29, 2023, to refinance the aforementioned notes.
Debt Covenants
Both our export credit facilities and our non-export credit facilities contain covenants that require us, among other things, to maintain a fixed charge coverage ratio of at least 1.25x and limit our net debt-to-capital ratio to no more than 62.5%, and under certain facilities, to maintain a minimum level of shareholders' equity. The fixed charge coverage ratio is calculated by dividing net cash from operations for the past four quarters by the sum of dividend payments plus scheduled principal debt payments in excess of any new financings for the past four quarters. Our minimum net worth and maximum net debt-to-capital calculations exclude the impact of Accumulated other comprehensive loss on Total shareholders’ equity.
During 2020, we amended all of our export credit facilities, all of our non-export credit facilities and certain of our credit card processing agreements which contain financial covenants to extend the financial covenant waiver through and including the fourth quarter of 2021. During the first quarter of 2021, we amended $4.9 billion of our non-export credit facilities and $6.3 billion of our export credit facilities, and certain credit card processing agreements, to extend the waiver of our financial covenants through and including at least the third quarter of 2022, and subsequently in the third quarter of 2021, we entered into a letter agreement to extend the waiver period for our export credit facilities to the end of the fourth quarter of 2022. During the fourth quarter of 2021, we amended $7.3 billion of outstanding export-credit facilites plus committed export-credit facilities to
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modify financial covenant levels for 2023 and 2024, following the waiver period through and including the fourth quarter of 2022.
In addition, pursuant to the amendments for the non-export credit facilities, we have modified the manner in which such covenants are calculated, temporarily in certain cases and permanently in others, as well as the levels at which our net debt to capitalization covenant will be tested during the period commencing immediately following the end of the waiver period and continuing through the end of 2023.
The amendments impose a monthly-tested minimum liquidity covenant of $350.0 million, which in the case of the non-export credit facilities terminates at the end of the waiver period and in the case of the export credit facilities terminates either in July 2025, or when we pay off all deferred amounts, whichever is earlier. In addition, the amendments to the non-export credit facilities place restrictions on paying cash dividends and effectuating share repurchases through the end of the third quarter of 2022, while the export credit facility amendments require us to prepay any deferred amounts if we elect to issue dividends or complete share repurchases. As of December 31, 2021, we were in compliance with the applicable minimum liquidity covenant and we estimate that we will be in compliance for at least the next twelve months.
Any further covenant waivers may lead to increased costs, increased interest rates, additional restrictive covenants and other available lender protections as may be agreed with our lenders. There can be no assurance that we would be able to obtain additional waivers in a timely manner, or on acceptable terms. If we require additional waivers and are not able to obtain them or repay the debt facilities, this would lead to an event of default and potential acceleration of amounts due under all of our outstanding debt and derivative contracts.
Dividends
During the first quarter of 2020 we declared a cash dividend on our common stock of $0.78 per share which was paid in the second quarter of 2020.
During the second quarter of 2020, we agreed with certain of our lenders not to pay dividends or engage in common stock repurchases for so long as our debt covenant waivers are in effect. In addition, in the event we declare a dividend or engage in share repurchases, we will need to repay the amounts deferred under our export credit facilities. Accordingly, we did not declare a dividend during the seventh consecutive quarters ending December 31, 2021. Pursuant to amendments made to these agreements during the first quarter of 2021, the restrictions on paying cash dividends and effectuating share repurchases were extended through and including the third quarter of 2022.
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Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
Financial Instruments and Other
General
We are exposed to market risk attributable to changes in interest rates, foreign currency exchange rates and fuel prices. We try to mitigate these risks through a combination of our normal operating and financing activities and through the use of derivative financial instruments pursuant to our hedging practices and policies. The financial impact of these hedging instruments is primarily offset by corresponding changes in the underlying exposures being hedged. We achieve this by closely matching the amount, term and conditions of the derivative instrument with the underlying risk being hedged. Although certain of our derivative financial instruments do not qualify or are not accounted for under hedge accounting, our objective is not to hold or issue derivative financial instruments for trading or other speculative purposes. Refer to Note 16. Fair Value Measurements and Derivative Instruments to our consolidated financial statements under Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.
Interest Rate Risk
Our exposure to market risk for changes in interest rates relates to our long-term debt obligations including future interest payments. At December 31, 2021, approximately 65.7% of our long-term debt was effectively fixed as compared to 64.5% as of December 31, 2020. We use interest rate swap agreements to modify our exposure to interest rate movements and to manage our interest expense.
Market risk associated with our long-term fixed rate debt is the potential increase in fair value resulting from a decrease in interest rates. We use interest rate swap agreements that effectively convert a portion of our fixed-rate debt to a floating-rate basis to manage this risk. At December 31, 2021, we maintained interest rate swap agreements on the following fixed-rate debt instruments:
These interest rate swap agreements are accounted for as fair value hedges.
The estimated fair value of our long-term fixed-rate debt at December 31, 2021 was $13.7 billion, using quoted market prices, where available, or using the present value of expected future cash flows which incorporates risk profile. The fair value of our fixed to floating interest rate swap agreements was estimated to be an asset of $7.7 million as of December 31, 2021, based on the present value of expected future cash flows. A hypothetical one percentage point decrease in interest rates at December 31, 2021 would increase the fair value of our hedged and unhedged long-term fixed-rate debt by approximately $105.3 million and would increase the fair value of our fixed to floating interest rate swap agreements by approximately $5.0 million.
Market risk associated with our long-term floating-rate debt is the potential increase in interest expense from an increase in interest rates. We use interest rate swap agreements that effectively convert a portion of our floating-rate debt to a fixed-rate basis to manage this risk. A hypothetical one percentage point increase in interest rates would increase our forecasted 2022 interest expense by approximately $48.7 million, assuming no change in foreign currency exchange rates.
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At December 31, 2021, we maintained interest rate swap agreements on the following floating-rate debt instruments:
___________________________________________________________________
(1) Interest rate swap agreements hedging the Euro-denominated term loan for Harmony of the Seas include EURIBOR zero-floors matching the hedged debt EURIBOR zero-floor. Amount presented is based on the exchange rate as of December 31, 2021.
(2) Interest rate swap agreements hedging the term loan of Odyssey of the Seas include LIBOR zero-floors matching the debt LIBOR zero-floor. The effective dates of the $421.7 million and $191.7 million interest rate swap agreements are October 2020 and October 2022, respectively. The unsecured term loan for the financing of Odyssey of the Seas was drawn on March 2021.
These interest rate swap agreements are accounted for as cash flow hedges.
The fair value of our floating to fixed interest rate swap agreements was estimated to be a liability of $70.7 million as of December 31, 2021 based on the present value of expected future cash flows. These interest rate swap agreements are accounted for as cash flow hedges.
Foreign Currency Exchange Rate Risk
Our primary exposure to foreign currency exchange rate risk relates to our ship construction contracts denominated in Euros, our foreign currency denominated debt and our international business operations. On a regular basis, we enter into foreign currency forward contracts and, from time to time, we utilize cross-currency swap agreements and collar options to manage portions of the exposure to movements in foreign currency exchange rates.
The estimated fair value, as of December 31, 2021, of our Euro-denominated forward contracts associated with our ship construction contracts was a liability of $122.5 million, based on the present value of expected future cash flows. As of December 31, 2021, the aggregate cost of our ships on order, not including ships on order by our Partner Brands, was approximately $12.4 billion, of which we had deposited $800.2 million as of such date. Approximately 59.0% of the aggregate cost of the ships under construction was exposed to fluctuations in the Euro exchange rate at December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. A hypothetical 10% strengthening of the Euro as of December 31, 2021, assuming no changes in comparative interest rates, would result in a $730.4 million increase in the United States dollar cost of the foreign currency denominated ship construction contracts exposed to fluctuations in the Euro exchange rate. Our foreign currency forward contract agreements are accounted for as cash flow or net investment hedges depending on the designation of the related hedge.
Our international business operations subject us to foreign currency exchange risk. We transact business in many different foreign currencies and maintain investments in foreign operations which may expose us to financial market risk resulting from fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates. Movements in foreign currency exchange rates may affect the value of our earnings in foreign currencies and cash flows. We manage most of this exposure on a consolidated basis, which allows us to take advantage of any natural offsets. Therefore, weakness in one particular currency might be offset by strengths in other currencies over time. The extent to which one currency is effective as a natural offset of another currency fluctuates over time. In addition, some foreign currency exposures have little to no mitigating natural offsets available.
We consider our investments in our foreign operations to be denominated in relatively stable currencies and of a long-term nature. As of December 31, 2021, we maintained a foreign currency forward contract and designated it as a hedge of a portion of our net investment in TUI Cruises of €245.0 million, or approximately $278.6 million based on the exchange rate at December 31, 2021. This forward currency contract matures in April 2022.
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We also address the exposure of our investments in foreign operations by denominating a portion of our debt in our subsidiaries' and investments' functional currencies and designating it as a hedge of these subsidiaries and investments. We had designated debt as a hedge of our net investments primarily in TUI Cruises of approximately €97.0 million, or approximately $110.3 million, through December 31, 2021. As of December 31, 2020, we had designated debt as a hedge of our net investments primarily in TUI Cruises of approximately €215.0 million, or approximately $263.0 million.
We have included net gains of approximately $47.7 million and $22.1 million of foreign-currency transaction remeasurement and changes in the fair value of derivatives in the foreign currency translation adjustment component of Accumulated other comprehensive loss at December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively.
On a regular basis, we enter into foreign currency forward contracts and, from time to time, we utilize cross-currency swap agreements and collar options to minimize the volatility resulting from the remeasurement of net monetary assets and liabilities denominated in a currency other than our functional currency or the functional currencies of our foreign subsidiaries. During 2021, we maintained an average of approximately $483.2 million of these foreign currency forward contracts. These instruments are not designated as hedging instruments. For the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019 changes in the fair value of the foreign currency forward contracts resulted in gains (losses) of approximately $(30.9) million, $(19.0) million and $1.4 million, respectively, which offset gains (losses) arising from the remeasurement of monetary assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies in those same years of $24.3 million, $(1.5) million and $0.4 million, respectively. These changes were recognized in earnings within Other income (expense) in our consolidated statements of comprehensive income (loss).
Fuel Price Risk
Our exposure to market risk for changes in fuel prices relates primarily to the consumption of fuel on our ships. Fuel cost, net of the financial impact of fuel swap agreements, as a percentage of our total revenues, was approximately 25.1% in 2021, 16.8% in 2020 and 6.4% in 2019. We use fuel swap agreements to mitigate the financial impact of fluctuations in fuel prices.
As of December 31, 2021, we had fuel swap agreements to pay fixed prices for fuel with an aggregate notional amount of approximately $527.3 million, maturing through 2023. These fuel swap agreements are generally accounted for as cash flow hedges. The fuel swap agreements designated as hedges of projected fuel purchases represented 54% of our projected 2022 fuel requirements and 15% of our projected 2023 fuel requirements. The prior suspension of our cruise operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic and our gradual resumption of cruise operations has resulted in reductions to our forecasted fuel purchases. As of December 31, 2021, the Company had outstanding fuel swaps of 231,900 metric tons, maturing in 2022, that do not hedge forecasted fuel consumption. Of these swaps, 115,950 metric tons relate to fuel swap agreements with discontinued hedge accounting, in which we effectively pay fixed prices for our fuel purchases and receive floating prices from the counterparty. The remaining 115,950 tons relate to fuel swap agreements that were not designated as hedges since inception, in which we effectively pay floating prices for our fuel purchases and receive fixed prices from the counterparty. The estimated fair value of our fuel swap agreements at December 31, 2021 was estimated to be an asset of $40.3 million. We estimate that a hypothetical 10% increase in our weighted-average fuel price from that experienced during the year ended December 31, 2021 would increase our forecasted 2022 fuel cost by approximately $50.0 million, net of the impact of fuel swap agreements.
Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data
Our Consolidated Financial Statements are included beginning on page F-1 of this report.
Item 9. Changes In and Disagreements With Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure
None.
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Item 9A. Controls and Procedures
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
Our management, with the participation of our President and Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures, as such term is defined in Exchange Act Rule 13a-15(e), as of the end of the period covered by this report. Based upon such evaluation, our President and Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that those controls and procedures are effective to provide reasonable assurance that information required to be disclosed by us in the reports that we file or submit under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to management, including our President and Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure and are effective to provide reasonable assurance that such information is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified by the Securities and Exchange Commission's (the "SEC") rules and forms.
Management's Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting, as such term is defined in Exchange Act Rule 13a-15(f). Our management, with the participation of our President and Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer, conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting based on the Internal Control-Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission. Based on this evaluation, management concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was effective as of December 31, 2021.
The effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2021 has been audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, the independent registered public accounting firm that audited our consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, as stated in its report, which is included herein on page F-2.
Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
There were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting identified in connection with the evaluation required by Exchange Act Rule 13a-15(d) during the quarter ended December 31, 2021 that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
Inherent Limitations on Effectiveness of Controls
It should be noted that any system of controls, however well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable, and not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the system will be met. In addition, the design of any control system is based in part upon certain assumptions about the likelihood of future events. Because of these and other inherent limitations of control systems, there is only reasonable assurance that our controls will succeed in achieving their goals under all potential future conditions.
Item 9B. Other Information
None.
Item 9C. Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections
Not applicable.
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PART III
Items 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance; Executive Compensation; Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters; Certain Relationships and Related Transactions; and Director Independence and Principal Accountant Fees and Services.
Except for information concerning executive officers (called for by Item 401(b) of Regulation S-K), which is included in Part I of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, the information required by Items 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14 is incorporated herein by reference to certain sections of the Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. Definitive Proxy Statement relating to our 2022 Annual Meeting of Shareholders (the "Proxy Statement") to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission no later than 120 days after the close of the fiscal year. Please refer to the following sections in the Proxy Statement for more information: "Corporate Governance"; "Proposal 1—Election of Directors"; "Certain Relationships and Related Person Transactions"; "Delinquent Section 16(a) Reports"; "Executive Compensation"; "Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management"; and "Proposal 3—Ratification of Principal Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm." Copies of the Proxy Statement will become available when filed through our Investor Relations website at www.rclcorporate.com (please see "Financial Reports" under "Financial Information"); by contacting our Investor Relations department at 1050 Caribbean Way, Miami, Florida 33132—telephone (305) 982-2625; or by visiting the SEC's website at www.sec.gov.
We have adopted a Code of Business Conduct and Ethics that applies to all of our employees, including our executive officers, and our directors. A copy of the Code of Business Conduct and Ethics is posted in the corporate governance section of our website at www.rclcorporate.com and is available in print, without charge, to shareholders upon written request to our Corporate Secretary at Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd., 1050 Caribbean Way, Miami, Florida 33132. Any amendments to the code or any waivers from any provisions of the code granted to executive officers or directors will be promptly disclosed to investors by posting on our website at www.rclcorporate.com. None of the websites referenced in this Annual Report on Form 10-K or the information contained therein is incorporated herein by reference.
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PART IV
Item 15. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules
(a)(1) Financial Statements
Our Consolidated Financial Statements have been prepared in accordance with Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data and are included beginning on page F-1 of this report.
(1)Financial Statement Schedules
None.
(1)Exhibits
Incorporated By Reference
Exhibit Number Form Exhibit Filing Date/ Period End Date
3.2 Amended and Restated By-Laws of the Company, as amended 8-K 3.1 2/11/2022
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Incorporated By Reference
Exhibit Number Form Exhibit Filing Date/ Period End Date
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Incorporated By Reference
Exhibit Number Form Exhibit Filing Date/ Period End Date
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Incorporated By Reference
Exhibit Number Form Exhibit Filing Date/ Period End Date
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Incorporated By Reference
Exhibit Number Form Exhibit Filing Date/ Period End Date
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Incorporated By Reference
Exhibit Number Form Exhibit Filing Date/ Period End Date
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Incorporated By Reference
Exhibit Number Form Exhibit Filing Date/ Period End Date
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Incorporated By Reference
Exhibit Number Form Exhibit Filing Date/ Period End Date
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Incorporated By Reference
Exhibit Number Form Exhibit Filing Date/ Period End Date
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Incorporated By Reference
Exhibit Number Form Exhibit Filing Date/ Period End Date
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Incorporated By Reference
Exhibit Number Form Exhibit Filing Date/ Period End Date
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Incorporated By Reference
Exhibit Number Form Exhibit Filing Date/ Period End Date
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Incorporated By Reference
Exhibit Number Form Exhibit Filing Date/ Period End Date
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Incorporated By Reference
Exhibit Number Form Exhibit Filing Date/ Period End Date
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Incorporated By Reference
Exhibit Number Form Exhibit Filing Date/ Period End Date
18.1 Preferability Letter Regarding Change in Accounting Principle*
21.1 List of Subsidiaries*
23.2 Consent of Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP*
24.1 Power of Attorney*
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* Filed herewith
** Furnished herewith
†Management contract or compensatory plan or arrangement.
Interactive Data File
(ii) the Consolidated Balance Sheets at December 31, 2021 and 2020;
Item 16. Form 10-K Summary
None.
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SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
ROYAL CARIBBEAN CRUISES LTD.(Registrant)
By: /s/ NAFTALI HOLTZ
March 1, 2022
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities indicated on March 1, 2022.
/s/ JASON T. LIBERTY
/s/ NAFTALI HOLTZ
Naftali HoltzChief Financial Officer(Principal Financial Officer)
/s/ HENRY L. PUJOL
/s/ RICHARD D. FAIN
Richard D. FainChairman of the Board
*
John F. Brock Director
*
Stephen R. Howe Jr. Director
*
William L. Kimsey Director
*
Maritza G. Montiel Director
*
Ann S. Moore Director
*
Eyal M. Ofer Director
*
William K. Reilly Director
*
Vagn O. Sørensen Director
*
Donald Thompson Director
*
Arne Alexander WilhelmsenDirector
*
Amy C. McPhersonDirector
*
Michael O. Leavitt Director
*
*By: /s/ NAFTALI HOLTZ
Naftali Holtz, as Attorney-in-Fact
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ROYAL CARIBBEAN CRUISES LTD.
INDEX TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Page
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm (PCAOB ID No. 238) F-2
Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive (Loss) Income F-6
Consolidated Balance Sheets F-7
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows F-8
Consolidated Statements of Shareholders' Equity F-10
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements F-11
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Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
To the Board of Directors and Shareholders of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.
Opinions on the Financial Statements and Internal Control over Financial Reporting
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. and its subsidiaries (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2021 and 2020, and the related consolidated statements of comprehensive (loss) income, shareholders’ equity, and cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2021, including the related notes (collectively referred to as the “consolidated financial statements”). We also have audited the Company's internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2021, based on criteria established in Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO).
In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2021 and 2020, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2021 in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. Also in our opinion, the Company maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2021, based on criteria established in Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the COSO.
Change in Accounting Principle
As discussed in Note 1 to the consolidated financial statements, effective October 1, 2021, the Company changed the manner in which it accounts for the consolidation of Silversea Cruises.
Basis for Opinions
The Company's management is responsible for these consolidated financial statements, for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting, and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting, included in Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting appearing under Item 9A. Our responsibility is to express opinions on the Company’s consolidated financial statements and on the Company's internal control over financial reporting based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audits to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the consolidated financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud, and whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects.
Our audits of the consolidated financial statements included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the consolidated financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the consolidated financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the consolidated financial statements. Our audit of internal control over financial reporting included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, and testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk. Our audits also included performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinions.
Emphasis of Matter
As discussed in Note 1 to the consolidated financial statements, the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have had, and will continue to have, a material negative impact on the Company’s results of operations and liquidity. Management’s evaluation of the events and conditions and management’s plans to mitigate these matters are also described in Note 1.
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Definition and Limitations of Internal Control over Financial Reporting
A company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. A company’s internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (i) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (ii) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and (iii) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.
Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.
Critical Audit Matters
The critical audit matters communicated below are matters arising from the current period audit of the consolidated financial statements that were communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that (i) relate to accounts or disclosures that are material to the consolidated financial statements and (ii) involved our especially challenging, subjective, or complex judgments. The communication of critical audit matters does not alter in any way our opinion on the consolidated financial statements, taken as a whole, and we are not, by communicating the critical audit matters below, providing separate opinions on the critical audit matters or on the accounts or disclosures to which they relate.
Liquidity - Impact of COVID-19
As described in Note 1 to the consolidated financial statements, the Company restarted its global cruise operations in a phased manner, following a voluntary suspension of global cruise operations that commenced in March 2020 in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. Management believes the impact to their global bookings resulting from COVID-19 will continue to have a material negative impact on the Company’s results of operations and liquidity. Management has implemented a number of measures to mitigate the financial and operational impacts of COVID-19, including reduction of capital expenditures and operating expenses, the issuance of debt and shares of their common stock, the amendment of credit agreements to defer payments, the waiver and/or modification of covenant requirements and the suspension of dividend payments, with the addition of pursuing refinancing opportunities to reduce interest expense and extend maturities. The principal assumptions used in management’s estimate of future liquidity requirements consisted of (i) the expected continued gradual resumption of cruise operations; (ii) the expected sustained increase in revenue per available passenger cruise day during the continued resumption of cruise operations; (iii) the expected lower than comparable historical occupancy levels during the continued resumption of cruise operations, increasing over time until the Company reaches historical occupancy levels; and (iv) the expected spend during the Company’s resumption of cruise operations, including returning crew members to their vessels and maintaining enhanced health and safety protocols. Based on these assumptions regarding the impact of COVID-19 and the Company’s resumption of operations, as well as the Company’s present financial condition, management believes they have sufficient financial resources to fund their obligations for at least the next twelve months from the issuance of the financial statements.
The principal considerations for our determination that performing procedures relating to the impact of COVID-19 on the Company’s liquidity is a critical audit matter are the significant judgment by management when developing the estimate of future liquidity requirements; this in turn led to a high degree of auditor judgment, subjectivity, and effort in performing procedures and evaluating management’s estimate of future liquidity requirements and assumptions related to (i) the expected continued gradual resumption of cruise operations; (ii) the expected sustained increase in revenue per available passenger cruise day during the continued resumption of cruise operations; (iii) the expected lower than comparable historical occupancy levels during the continued resumption of cruise operations, increasing over time until the Company reaches historical occupancy levels; and (iv) the expected spend during the Company’s resumption of cruise operations, including returning crew members to their vessels and maintaining enhanced health and safety protocols.
Addressing the matter involved performing procedures and evaluating audit evidence in connection with forming our overall opinion on the consolidated financial statements. These procedures included testing the effectiveness of
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controls relating to management’s estimate of future liquidity requirements. These procedures also included, among others, (i) testing management’s process for estimating future liquidity requirements for the twelve months after the date the financial statements are issued; (ii) testing the completeness and accuracy of underlying data used in the estimate; (iii) evaluating the reasonableness of the significant assumptions used by management related to the expected continued gradual resumption of cruise operations, the expected sustained increase in revenue per available passenger cruise day during the continued resumption of cruise operations, the expected lower than comparable historical occupancy levels during the continued resumption of cruise operations, increasing over time until the Company reaches historical occupancy levels, and the expected spend during the Company’s resumption of cruise operations, including returning crew members to their vessels and maintaining enhanced health and safety protocols; and (iv) evaluating management’s estimate of future liquidity requirements and their disclosure in the consolidated financial statements regarding having sufficient liquidity to satisfy the Company’s obligations for at least the next twelve months from the issuance of the financial statements. Evaluating management’s assumptions related to the expected continued gradual resumption of cruise operations, the expected sustained increase in revenue per available passenger cruise day during the continued resumption of cruise operations, the expected lower than comparable historical occupancy levels during the continued resumption of cruise operations, increasing over time until the Company reaches historical occupancy levels, and the expected spend during the Company’s resumption of cruise operations, including returning crew members to their vessels and maintaining enhanced health and safety protocols, involved evaluating whether the assumptions used by management were reasonable considering (i) the current and past performance of the Company; (ii) the consistency with external market and industry data; and (iii) whether these assumptions were consistent with evidence obtained in other areas of the audit.
Impairment Assessments – Silversea Cruises Reporting Unit Goodwill and Trade Name
As described in Notes 2, 4 and 5 to the consolidated financial statements, as of December 31, 2021 the Company’s consolidated goodwill balance was $809 million and the indefinite-life intangible assets balance was $321 million, and the goodwill and trade name associated with the Silversea Cruises reporting unit and trade name was $509 million and $319 million, respectively. Management reviews goodwill and indefinite-life intangible assets for impairment at the reporting unit level and asset level, respectively, annually or, when events or circumstances dictate, more frequently. The impairment analysis consists of a comparison of the fair value of the reporting unit or asset with its carrying value. Fair value is estimated by management using a discounted cash flow model in combination with a market-based valuation approach for reporting units and a relief-from-royalty method for trade names. Management’s principal assumptions for the Silversea Cruises reporting unit and trade name were the forecasted net revenues, primarily the timing of returning to normalized operations, occupancy rates from existing and expected ship deliveries, terminal growth rate, royalty rate, and weighted average cost of capital (i.e., discount rate).
The principal considerations for our determination that performing procedures relating to the impairment assessments of the Silversea Cruises reporting unit goodwill and trade name is a critical audit matter are (i) the significant judgment by management when developing the fair value estimates; (ii) a high degree of auditor judgment, subjectivity and effort in performing procedures and evaluating management’s significant assumptions related to the timing of returning to normalized operations, occupancy rates from existing and expected ship deliveries, terminal growth rates, and discount rates for the goodwill and trade name impairment assessments, and the royalty rate for the trade name impairment assessment; and (iii) the audit effort involved the use of professionals with specialized skill and knowledge.
Addressing the matter involved performing procedures and evaluating audit evidence in connection with forming our overall opinion on the consolidated financial statements. These procedures included testing the effectiveness of controls relating to management’s goodwill and trade name impairment assessments, including controls over the valuation of the Silversea Cruises reporting unit and trade name. These procedures also included, among others, (i) testing management’s process for developing the fair value estimates; (ii) evaluating the appropriateness of the discounted future cash flow model, market-based valuation approach, and relief-from-royalty method; (iii) testing the completeness and accuracy of underlying data used in the fair value estimates; and (iv) evaluating the reasonableness of the significant assumptions used by management related to the timing of returning to normalized operations, occupancy rates from existing and expected ship deliveries, terminal growth rates, and discount rates for the goodwill and trade name impairment assessments, and the royalty rate for the trade name impairment assessment. Evaluating management’s assumptions related to the timing of returning to normalized operations, occupancy rates from existing and expected ship deliveries, and terminal growth rates involved evaluating whether the assumptions used by management were reasonable considering (i) the current and past performance of the reporting unit and the Silversea Cruises brand; (ii) the consistency with external market and industry data; and (iii) whether these assumptions were consistent with evidence obtained in other areas of the audit. Professionals with specialized skill and knowledge were used to assist in the evaluation of (i) the Company’s discounted cash flow
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model, market-based valuation approach and relief-from-royalty method, and (ii) the discount rate and royalty rate assumptions.
/s/ PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Hallandale Beach, Florida
March 1, 2022
We have served as the Company’s auditor since at least 1989, which includes periods before the Company became subject to SEC reporting requirements. We have not been able to determine the specific year we began serving as auditor of the Company.
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ROYAL CARIBBEAN CRUISES LTD.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE (LOSS) INCOME
(in thousands, except per share data)
Year Ended December 31,
Cruise operating expenses:
Other income (expense):
Less: Net Income attributable to noncontrolling interest — 22,332 28,713
(Loss) Earnings per Share:
Comprehensive (Loss) Income
Other comprehensive income (loss):
____________________________________________________________
(1) Including a $62.6 million net loss related to the 2021 elimination of the Silversea Cruises reporting lag.
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ROYAL CARIBBEAN CRUISES LTD.
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
As of December 31,
(in thousands, except share data)
Assets
Current assets
Liabilities and shareholders' equity
Current liabilities