Hilton Worldwide profits come in above forecasts

The global operator of hotels such as the Waldorf Astoria and the Double tree chains has beaten expectations as more guests chose to stay at its establishments.

Hilton Worldwide, which operates properties such as Hilton Abu Dhabi that features the beachfront above, has beaten expectations. Courtesy : Hilton Abu Dhabi

Hilton Worldwide Holdings, the owner of the Waldorf Astoria hotel chain, reported higher than expected quarterly adjusted profit on Wednesday, as more people booked its rooms at higher prices.

The Conrad and Double Tree hotels owner, which has numerous properties in the UAE, said its system-wide comparable revenue per available room (RevPAR), a key metric in the hotel industry, rose 0.9 per cent in the fourth quarter ended December 31, excluding the impact of currency rate fluctuations.

RevPAR is calculated by multiplying a hotel’s average daily room rate by its occupancy rate.

Hilton, which gets more than three quarters of its revenue from the United States, reaffirmed its 1 to 3 per cent growth in RevPAR in 2017 and said it expects adjusted earnings between US$1.65 and $1.75 per share.

Analysts on average had expected Hilton to earn $1.75 per share in 2017.

System-wide occupancy rose 0.1 percent while its average daily rate rose 0.7 per cent in the quarter.

Net loss attributable to Hilton stockholders was $387 million, or $1.17 per share, in the quarter, compared with a profit of $814m, or $2.47 per share, in the year-ago period.

Hilton said it incurred non-cash corporate restructuring charges in the quarter prior to the spin-offs of Park Hotels & Resorts and Hilton Grand Vacations, which were completed in January.

Excluding items, the company earned 70 cents per share.

Revenue rose to $2.92 billion from $2.86bn.

Analysts on average had expected Hilton to earn 65 cents per share and revenue of $2.91 billion, according to Reuters.

Up to Tuesday’s close, shares of the Virginia-based company had risen 50.2 per cent in the past 12 months.

* Reuters

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