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| Statement |
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| The Lindblad segment is in a strong booking position for the upcoming year and the booking momentum has only accelerated with booking since the start of December for travel in 2024 up over 50% versus the same period a year ago for 2023 |
| As we further ramp occupancy towards historical levels, you can see both the revenue opportunity and the operating leverage inherent in our marine platform as we attract more and more guests while maintaining strong pricing discipline across the expanded fleet |
| So the momentum is really, really strong, and it has really just continued, so we fully anticipate that, that opportunity will continue to expand moving forward |
| The strong revenue growth across both segments generated significant operating leverage in 2023, with total company adjusted EBITDA of $71 million, an increase of $83 million versus a year ago, driven by a $78 million increase at the Lindblad segment and a $5 million or 29% increase at the Land Experiences segment |
| As we increase capacity, we also saw meaningful growth in net yield, up 12% to $1,097 per guests night and occupancy taking up to 77% from 75% a year ago |
| Similar to our ship operations, our land portfolio is also delivering strong growth, driven by additional departures and guests across each of our four unique businesses |
| So the engagement between the organizations has just been hugely cooperative and very excited and very, very committed to the idea of growing our business together because there's lots of value for all parties if we do that |
| Total company revenue for the full year 2023 of $570 million increased $148 million or 35% versus 2022, as we continue to ramp operations with strong growth across both our Lindblad and Land Experiences segments |
| And the record results we delivered in 2023 demonstrates the opportunity we have across our diverse portfolio of experiential offerings |
| This past November, we further solidified our ability to take advantage of this growth with the extension and expansion of our 20 year old partnership with National Geographic, one of the world's most respected and beloved brands |
| As we have discussed previously, the earnings potential of the company has increased considerably over the last several years with the addition of over 40% more ship capacity and three industry-leading land operators |
| Beyond enhancing our shared expertise and the onboard experience for our guests, it will increase the earnings potential of the company by opening larger addressable markets through new worldwide audiences |
| In short, it will further solidify our position as the leader in expedition cruise and experiential adventure in travel, a segment we have been leading for more than 50 years |
| As Sven highlighted, Lindblad delivered record revenue and EBITDA in 2023 as we further ramped operations with broader deployment of our expanded fleet and additional departures across our platform of land-based businesses |
| So I'm really excited about the next years as we, together with our partners with National Geographic and Disney, build and grow our business, expand our ideas, our relevance in supporting necessary strategies that help protect environments, communities and history |
| I firmly believe that this will result in meaningful accelerated growth in terms of occupancy, yield protection and expansion of the fleet for years to come |
| In addition to the robust P&L growth in 2024, we also anticipate strong free cash flow generation, excluding any growth CapEx |
| The investments we have made thus far in broadening the land portfolio has proven widely successful, laying the vision of expertise and entrepreneurial spirit of the founders with the operating and marketing power of Lindblad has grown our land portfolio from EBITDA of just over $3 million when we first acquired Natural Habitat to nearly $23 million in 2023, including nearly 30% growth year-on-year |
| We are achieving higher conversion rates across all parts of the funnel and we are delivering stronger guest service metrics at our contact center |
| We start the year with a strong foundation of future bookings with the Lindblad segment pacing 2% ahead of where we were at the same point in 2023, despite having significantly less carryover business from cancellations during COVID |
| The record financial results we delivered in 2023, including 35% revenue growth and adjusted EBITDA of over $71 million, a pretty good indication that we are well on our way to achieving that outcome |
| Looking ahead, we are excited by the sustained operating momentum across our expanded platform, and we anticipate significant growth in 2024, driven by higher occupancies and increased net yields across our fleet as well as additional travelers across our growing land businesses |
| All the drivers of our business were up this year, led by a 33% increase in guest nights, as we began to fully utilize our expanded fleet |
| The good thing about a really, really good agreement is where you pretty much assured that everybody that's part of that agreement gain significant value as a consequence of growth, and that's what this agreement is |
| By year's end, we will be able to report with far more accuracy the detail about how the anticipated significant National Geographic and Disney effect, about the National Geographic and Disney effect, but harnessing that collective power is extremely exciting at a time with a poll to connect authentically with nature and culture is growing by the day |
| Given the strong booking trends we are generating, we expect total company tour revenue in 2024 between $610 million and $630 million and adjusted EBITDA between $88 million and $98 million |
| A fourth pillar in this new era is reconnecting with our community in creative ways and creating the most modern marketing and sales platform to propel growth |
| This has not only created significant value for our guests and shareholders but also is a great calling card as we strategically look to find additional companies to join our family |
| We still have ways to go before we finally exploit the possibilities that these systems provide, but we are already seeing record bookings coming through our website |
| This new agreement, which runs through 2040 will enable us to grow our brand on an international scale and reach more citizen explorers than ever before |
| Statement |
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| As I highlighted on the last call, while taking guests on our transit voyages generates additional revenue on voyages that would normally be non-revenue generating, they do have a negative impact on occupancy and yields, which was evident in the Q4 metrics |
| Another potential headwind in Q2 is the possible rerouting of water warships around the tip of Africa to avoid the Red Sea due to the recent attacks from Yemen |
| Due to the gang violence that erupted in Ecuador, on January 10, we canceled two voyages out of precaution in the first quarter, and there was some booking instability |
| It was certainly a distraction for various parts of our organization, but we kept our focus on our guests and have put most of those challenges behind us |
| While these isolated events are certainly frustrating, we have come to expect a certain amount of external disruption, and these short-term headwinds tail in comparison to the broader opportunity |
| The decrease in occupancy versus a year ago was predominantly due to the additional transit nights for sale as well as from increased cancellations on our Egypt itineraries due to the Israeli-Hamas war |
| Not surprisingly, the rollout of the reservation system was complex with numerous challenges that had to be solved |
| I get why nature and particularly the concern over its long-term future is fueling interest |
| Fortunately, Ecuador's young, energetic President seems to have quelled the violence |
| There are a couple of headwinds to point out for the upcoming year |
| Please note that cash from operations was also negatively impacted by the use of future travel credits, which made up approximately 8% of ticket revenues in the current year |
| And most importantly, the guest feedback has been nothing short of extraordinary |
| So we've seen a fair amount of these disruptions over time and kind of how they're magnified by your scale and in some cases, the uniqueness and your replaceability of the destinations you visit |
| Obviously, we will know more specifically and in greater detail by the end of the year how that manifests itself in terms of combating situations around the world that periodically arise, we will have to see |
| But generally speaking, there's always a couple of things -- two or three things that cause you to have to maybe reroute a ship or diminish booking somewhat, in certain instances, significantly |
| I know that there's disruption from the Israeli-Hamas war, which was known at that time |
| I mean one of the things we have done -- first of all, there's always been -- if you think about going back decades, there's always been something almost invariably, every now and then, you get through a year where absolutely nothing happened in the world that has any consequence or disruption in any way |
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