Yahoo Finance

Natalya Leahy

Thank you, [Swan]. I'm truly excited to be here. Over the past weeks, I've gained a deep appreciation for Lila's history, its purpose-driven approach and the incredible culture you built across our ships, fields, staff, and the shoreside teams. While visiting the ships with you and engaging with our guests, crew, and local communities, I witnessed firsthand what makes this company so special true authenticity, enrichment, and.
An incredible adventure Lindblad is the pioneer in expedition travel, delivering extraordinary experience in the world's most awe inspiring destinations our industry leading net promoter scores reflects exactly that. I was so impressed by the seamless orchestration of our expeditions, diverse daily landings, expert-led programming, and locally inspired cuisine, all within the intimacy of our small ships and deep connection to local communities.
As one guest has shared with me in Galapagos, after extensive research, there was only one obvious choice National Geographic Lila expeditions. With my background in iconic customer centric brands, I'm both proud and energized to join this team, proud of the transformative experiences we offer and energized by.
The exciting grows ahead. I look forward to building on the success of our 6 phenomenal adventure brands. turning to our financial performance, we delivered a record breaking 2024. Rick, our CFO, will share more details on our financial performance, but I do want to call out a few key highlights.
Our revenues increased 13% for the year to $645 million. Land segments revenue increased 29%, and the Lindblad segments to revenue increased 7%, driven by improvement across all key metrics, including accelerating yields in each quarter of the year.
Adjusted I increased 28% for the year, with margins increasing 170 basis points to 14.4%. In addition, we are pleased to see bookings for 2025 and 2026 continue to trend ahead of the prior year in both the expedition and land segments 2024 was a record performance year and also laid the foundation for long-term sustainable growth.
During the year, we continued to enhance and expand our expedition offerings with our Antarctica directly cruise program. The program successfully launched in the end of 2024, attracting a new guest to the brand. By reducing travel time and eliminating the Drake Passage crossing, given the strong demand, we're expanding from 4 voyages in 2024 to 19 in 2025 and to '24 voyages in 2026. The 2025 program is nearly sold out, and 2026 more than half booked.
In addition, we introduced two new vessels in our core Galapagos market, the National Geographic Gemini, 48 guest ships, and the National Geographic Dolcina, a 16 guest yacht, both are perfectly positioned to cater to high net worth, travelers and private charters. These strategic editions reinforce our position as the premier choice in our core market that attracts new guests to our brand.
During the year we completed the rollout of several key technology advancements to drive operational efficiencies moving forward. I'd like to highlight the CA booking platform which will enable enhancing pricing management capabilities. We also implemented on board technology upgrades that will provide higher transparency to our costs and higher inventory management capabilities. lastly, we invested in our telephony system upgrade which already cut wait times by over 50%.
Next, I would like to update you on our commitment to sustainability, which remains at the heart of wind blast mission. In 2024, we facilitated 45 conservation, education, and research initiatives in key regions we visit, including 20 visiting scientists working on biodiversity, climate change, and ocean.
A major milestone was achieved in Floriana Island restoration project, which saw a return of once locally extinct species and 100% self-sufficiency in stable crops for local farmers. these types of efforts drive real impact while also enriching the guest experience through deeper cultural and environmental connections.
Looking ahead, I believe there are three key pillars to drive meaningful shareholders value creation. number one, maximizing revenue generation through higher occupancy, pricing, and deployment profitability, both in the lean la and land segments two.
optimizing financial performance through smart cost innovations and better fixed assets utilization. number three, exploring and capitalizing on accretive growth opportunities including fleet expansion, charters, as well as potential additions to our brand portfolio.
Let me share with you a few major strategic and tactical initiatives and investments we are making in 2025 that will help us achieve our goals. First and foremost, we are amplifying our brand story. We recently launched our new co-branded campaign with National Geographic refrain travel, showcasing howling blood in. Enables guests to experience the world through a unique authentic lens. How do you see it matters, and this is why guests choose lingla expeditions, and this complaint captures our difference so well. It is launched across multiple channels, and early engagements are very promising.
Second, we will focus on reaching new audiences and reaching them through new sales channels. For this, we developed a robust plan with our national geographic partners. It spans from integrating booking tools with the Disney National Geographic platform. To joining Disney's earmarked travel advisor program, which will significantly increase our exposure to new top tier travel agencies. In addition, we will target Disney audiences through direct mail, reaching new guest prospects.
We will expand our charter and businesses, which we believe is one of the most efficient ways to drive early occupancy load and to attract new audiences. Of course our intimate ships are perfectly positioned and provide very strong value.
Fourth, we will try focus and mindful expansion in key international markets that present attractive growth opportunity. Of course, the National Geographic global brand awareness is a unique catalyst for us to capitalize on this opportunity.
We will continue to invest to capitalize on the momentum of our land segment and last but not least, we're intensely focused on driving cost and operational efficiencies such as streamlining crew planning, improving inventory management ops managing Supply chain and dry do planning. these initiatives coupled with strong booking momentum across our portfolio increase our confidence in being able to achieve and exceed historic occupancy levels in 2026 and beyond.
In conclusion, Lila expeditions is uniquely positioned at the far front of one of the fastest growing sectors in travel. Our differentiated purpose-driven model rooted in authenticity, sustainability, and deep engagement creates unmatched value for guests and shareholders alike. We have strong momentum, great portfolio of adventure travel offerings at sea and on land, a highly engaged and skilled team, and a clear roadmap for continued success.
With the focus on strategic investment, operational excellence, and brand amplification, we are confident in our ability to drive long term sustainable, profitable growth. thank you, and I will pass the call over to Rick to review our financials, Rick.

Rick Goldberg

Thank you so much, Natalia. I share Natalia's excitement about joining the Windblad team, especially after spending a week on board one of our ships with Natalia. I could not be more enthusiastic about the opportunity to build on this company's great legacy and to take the business to the next level. I'd also like to thank Dyson for his partnership over the last two months as I've transitioned into the CFO role. as Natalia mentioned, Lindblad delivered record revenue in Iveta in 2024 while building a strong foundation for future growth.
Total company revenue for the full year 2024 was $645 million an increase of $75 million or 13% versus 2023. Lindblad's segment tour revenue was $423 million an increase of $26 million or 7% compared to 2023. The increase was driven by a 2% increase in available guest nights, a 7% increase in net yield per available guest night to $1170 and a 1% point increase in occupancy to 78%.
Land experiences tour revenues were $221 million an increase of $49 million or 29% compared to 2023, driven by additional trips and higher pricing. On July 301, we closed the acquisition of Winland Thompson Adventures Incorporated, an adventure travel group that primarily operates African safaris, which also contributed to the strong growth. 2024 adjusted IAA was $91.2 million. An increase of $20 million or 28% versus the prior year. This was driven by an $11 million or 23% increase at the Lindblad segment and a $9 million or 40% increase at the land experiences segment.
Looking closer at the cost side of the business, operating expenses before depreciation and amortization, interest and taxes increased $55.2 million or 11.1% versus 2023. Cost of tours increased $21.3 million or 6.6%, primarily due to the inclusion of Thompson Group and operating additional land trips. Fuel costs were 6.3% of Lindblad's segment revenue, which is down 70 basis points compared with last year.
Sales and marketing costs increased $15.6 million or 21.8%, primarily due to higher royalties associated with the new National Geographic agreement and additional marketing spend to drive future bookings.
General and administrative costs, excluding stock-based compensation, transaction-related expenses, and legal settlements increased $18.2 million or 17.4% versus a year ago, primarily due to higher personnel costs, as well as credit card commissions associated with continued bookings growth.
Total company net loss available to stockholders improved $14.2 million year over year to $35.8 million or $0.67 per diluted share. This reflects a significant improvement in operations partially offset by higher depreciation and amortization.
Looking quickly at the fourth quarter of 2024, tour revenues increased 19% compared to the same period in 2023 due to a 13% increase in net yield per an available guest night in the Lindblad segment, including an 8% point increase in occupancy year over year, and in the land experiences segment, an increase in guests traveled and the addition of Winland Thompson adventures. Adjusted EBITDA down the fourth quarter of $13.4 million, increased $9.6 million from the fourth quarter a year ago. This was driven by a $6.6 million increase at the limb lad segment and a $3 million increase at the land experiences segment.
Turning to the balance sheet, we ended the year with total cash of $216 million an increase of $29 million versus the end of 2023. The increase reflects $92.4 million in cash from operations due primarily to the results of the business and increased bookings for future travel partially offset by interest expense. We used $44.1 million of cash for investing activities, including $10.6 million using the acquisition of Winland Thompson Adventures, that of cash acquired. As well as $33.5 million for purchasing property and equipment.
In January, we closed our previously announced purchase of two purpose-built Galapagos expedition vessels, the National Geographic Gemini and the National Geographic Delfina, which have both gone through extensive revitalizations. The Delfina just embarked on its inaugural voyage, and the Gemini will set sail in March.
Consistent with our stated strategy, we'll continue to explore additional growth opportunities in the years ahead, including further diversifying our product portfolio and opportunistically expanding our fleet to capitalize on the continued growth in the demand for experiential travel.
Looking ahead, we're excited by the strong momentum across our diverse portfolio of offerings. Available guest nights are expected to increase 1.5% for the full year in the limb blad segment as the addition of the Gemini and Delfina is somewhat offset by deployment changes and the timing of dry docks and other maintenance.
Those timing changes generate significant year over year swings in available guest nights by quarter, particularly in Q1, where guest nights are down double digits due to the timing of dry docks and repositionings.
We continue to be encouraged by the strong demand for the adventure travel market in both our limblat and land segments. We're accelerating our investment in demand generation efforts, including building our sales team, expanding the charter and on board sales, and focusing on key international markets.
These investments will drive occupancy and net yield growth in 2025 and will have an even greater impact on 2026. I'm pleased to share that booking curves are coming ahead of prior year for 2025 and 2026 for both segments, and as Natalia stated earlier, we're confident that we're on track to meet or even exceed pre-pandemic occupancy levels in 2026.
At the same time as we're making these investments in sales and marketing, we're also innovating on the cost side of our business with a goal of reducing expenses while maintaining the guest experience and our commitment to safety. Particular areas of focus include supply chain and procurement, crew planning and travel, and dry dock optimization. For 2025, we expect total company tour revenue between $700 million and $750 million and adjusted IBIA between $100 million and $112 million.
We anticipate cash for investing activities to increase by approximately $20 million versus 2024, reflecting the recent acquisitions of the Gemini and Delfina, refurbishment of these vessels, and an increase in dried dock days and now Natal and I would be happy to answer any questions you may have.

Question and Answer Session

Operator

At this time we kindly request that each participant limit themselves to one question, one follow up only to ensure that everyone will have the opportunity to engage with our speakers during our question and answer session today [Operator Instructions] thank you okay. so your first question comes from the line of Steve Vizinski with Stifo. Please go ahead.

Jackson Gibbon

Hi, this is Jackson Gibbon for Steve. First off, I just want to say congratulations to Talia and Rick on the new positions. Looking forward to hearing more from you guys moving forward. for the first question, I just wanted to start off with guidance. Looks like the IITA guidance for 2025 came in around 5% below consensus at the midpoint, but your revenue targets were significantly higher than we expected.
Could you talk a little bit about what factors might be weighing on the flow through there and what kind of occupancy expectations are embedded, and then maybe some puts and takes around what might get you towards the higher end versus the lower end of that EBITDA range.

Natalya Leahy

Well, thank you. First of all, very nice meeting you. Great question. So as you see, we have delivered a very strong double digit EBITDA cross in '24 in both land and expedition segments, and we are forecasting a very strong continued IA cross in 25 based on our outlook.
We are trending very strongly on our revenue based on current bookings both in 25 and 26, but we also continue to invest in future growth opportunities through expanding our salesforce, sales channels, and various demand generation activities that will generate strong return in 26.

Jackson Gibbon

Got it. That's great. And then for the second question, a little more big picture here with the new management team in place, I think it might be helpful to get an updated view on how you guys think about growing the business long term, whether that's organically through the new Disney partnership and how you think that can drive demand or through opportunities to deploy capital externally.

Natalya Leahy

Yeah, I think that our, I try to communicate it in my remarks. There are three key areas I believe which will drive value creation in this business. Number one is our guning cross, both in our land segment and our expedition segment through maximizing our revenues. Of course, National Geographic Partnership plays a very key role in our National Geographic expedition segment by expanding reach to very new audiences and very new sales channels and also continue to drive our brand awareness and amplification both in the US and international markets.
Our land segment, organic growth has been double digit and very strong over the past several years, so we will continue to invest and demand generation to accelerate. Revenue growth in those segments. Number two is smart cost innovation and fixed assets utilization. So we will focus on that. And the last one, we will continue to look for opportunities to invest in.
Opportunistic fleet cross alludedition brand this company has done really well, as over the past 10 years. The fleet capacity expanded by 75%, and we added over $220 million in land acquisitions that performed very successfully. So we'll continue to look for value creation opportunities in that space as well.

Jackson Gibbon

Got it. thank you very much.

Operator

Again, if you would like to ask a question, press star on your telephone keypad. Your next question comes from the line of Alex Furman with Craig Holland Capital Group. Please go ahead.

Alex Furman

Hi, thanks very much for taking my question. Nice to talk to you all, some of you for the first time here. Would love it if you could give us an update on where the Disney sales partnership stands right now and how you expect that to ramp throughout the year. Are there a meaningful number of bookings currently coming in through Disney sales channels, and can you talk about how that compares to perhaps what you used to generate from National Geographic platform alone prior to this?

Natalya Leahy

Yes, I will start. Alex, very nice meeting you and I will provide my remarks and I invite others to add. So the National Geographic Disney Partnership, really gaining momentum. There is a very strong roadmap for 25. We just spent a week together with our partners there and We have been expanding various sales channels but also audience channels.
So we started direct mail campaigns in the end of '24 which has very little overlap with our current less than 8% overlap with our current guests that generated positive returns. We're also expanding through various sales channels by enabling access to earmarked Disney agencies which have premiered Disney agencies and That enables us to collaborate with very new travel partners. I expect that it will continue to generate very strong return in 25 based on the foundation that was laid in 24.

Alex Furman

Okay, that's that's really helpful thank you very much.

Operator

Thank you everyone. Since there are no more questions, that concludes our Q&A session for today. I will now turn the call over back to Rick Goldberg, CFO. Please go ahead.

Rick Goldberg

Thank you so much, everyone. Really appreciate your time today.

Operator

Ladies and gentlemen, that concludes today's call. thank you all for joining us in our disconnect. Have a nice day, everyone.