Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd (NCLH)

Return on total capital

		Dec 31, 2023	Sep 30, 2023	Jun 30, 2023	Mar 31, 2023	Dec 31, 2022	Sep 30, 2022	Jun 30, 2022	Mar 31, 2022	Dec 31, 2021	Sep 30, 2021	Jun 30, 2021	Mar 31, 2021	Dec 31, 2020	Sep 30, 2020	Jun 30, 2020	Mar 31, 2020	Dec 31, 2019	Sep 30, 2019	Jun 30, 2019	Mar 31, 2019
Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) (ttm)	US$ in thousands	890,676	591,816	-68,560	-666,062	-1,476,703	-1,285,456	-1,820,781	-2,022,943	-2,401,319	-3,128,163	-2,955,756	-2,855,606	-3,338,236	-2,871,702	-1,708,371	-804,279	1,178,077	1,188,281	1,226,833	1,210,304
Long-term debt	US$ in thousands	13,500,000	12,700,000	12,200,000	11,900,000	11,900,000	12,000,000	11,600,000	13,100,000	12,500,000	14,200,000	14,200,000	13,911,700	14,200,000	12,022,100	11,142,800	8,595,300	6,957,800	6,417,100	6,471,100	6,686,100
Total stockholders’ equity	US$ in thousands	300,807	438,688	15,221	-99,548	68,591	399,783	901,815	1,507,600	2,432,650	2,883,240	3,719,250	4,377,260	4,354,100	4,087,770	4,337,020	4,374,650	6,515,580	6,273,420	6,150,340	5,905,300
Return on total capital		6.45%	4.50%	-0.56%	-5.64%	-12.34%	-10.37%	-14.56%	-13.85%	-16.08%	-18.31%	-16.49%	-15.61%	-17.99%	-17.83%	-11.04%	-6.20%	8.74%	9.36%	9.72%	9.61%

December 31, 2023 calculation

Return on total capital = EBIT (ttm) ÷ (Long-term debt + Total stockholders’ equity)
= $890,676K ÷ ($13,500,000K + $300,807K)
= 6.45%

The return on total capital for Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd has shown a mixed performance over the past eight quarters. In Q4 2023, the return on total capital was 6.48%, a significant increase from the previous quarter's 3.67%. This suggests a positive trend in the company's ability to generate returns on the total capital invested.

However, looking further back, in Q1 2022 and Q2 2022, the return on total capital was notably negative at -17.70% and -17.40% respectively. This indicates a period of poor performance where the company's capital investments did not yield satisfactory returns.

It is worth noting that in Q2 2023, the return on total capital improved from the negative territory to -1.39%, indicating a potential turnaround in the company's capital utilization efficiency.

Overall, while there have been fluctuations in the return on total capital, the recent positive trend suggests a potential improvement in Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd's ability to generate returns on the total capital employed.