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Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) has confirmed that fuel expenses rose by $32,419,000, or 9.9 percent, to $358,650,000 in 2015, up from $326,231,000 during the previous 12-month period.

The company's fuel price per metric tonne, net of hedges, decreased by 13.8 percent to $539, down from $625 in 2014. NCL's fuel price per metric tonne, excluding the impact of hedges, was $424 compared with $605 in 2014.

Fourth-quarter results

Fuel expenses during the fourth quarter of 2015 were up by $1,388,000, or 1.5 percent, to $90,866,000, up from $89,478,000 during the last three months of 2014.

The company's fuel price per metric tonne, net of hedges, decreased by 15.0 percent to $509, down from $599 in 2014. NCL's fuel price per metric tonne, excluding the impact of hedges, was $351 compared with $529 during the corresponding 3-month period in 2014.

Hedging

As of December 31, 2015, the company had hedged approximately 60%, 56%, 49% and 32% of its total projected metric tonnes of fuel purchases in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019, respectively. The average fuel price per metric tonne of the hedge portfolio for the same periods is $452, $401, $357 and $322, respectively.

Forecasting

Please find below the company's expectations regarding fuel consumption and pricing in 2016.

Fuel consumption in metric tonnes:
Q1 2016: 185,000
FY 2016: 725,000

Fuel price per metric tonne, excluding hedges:
Q1 2016: $260
FY 2016: $290

Fuel price per metric tonne, net of hedges:
Q1 2016: $450
FY 2016: $470

Effect on Adjusted EPS of a 10% change in fuel prices, net of hedges:
Q1 2016: $0.005
FY 2016: $0.02

Overall results

In its overall results, NCL posted a net income of $427,137,000 in 2015 compared with $342,601,000 in 2014.

The company reported a 27 percent increase in adjusted earnings per share (EPS) in 2015 to $2.88, up from $2.27 in the prior year, on adjusted net income of $662.7 million compared with $480.6 million in 2014.

Fourth-quarter net income was $38,312 compared with a net loss of $25,648 the previous year.

The company generated an adjusted net income of $117.3 million, or $0.51 per share during the fourth quarter, compared with $77.6 million or $0.36 per share in 2014. Adjusted EPS increased by 42 percent year-on-year.

Image: Norwegian Star.