Done Deals: Marriott International Reports First Quarter Results

Saturday, April 19, 2008

Marriott International Reports First Quarter Results

(Photo above shows Singer Island, FL, near Palm Beach County, where Marriott has ongoing projects.)

BETHESDA, MD /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- First Quarter Highlights reported by J.W. Marriott Jr., (top right photo) chairman and chief executive officer, Marriott International Inc.:

-- Worldwide company-operated comparable revenue per available room (REVPAR) rose 6.0 percent (4.5 percent using constant dollars) for the first quarter ended March 21, 2008;

-- Outside North America, company-operated comparable REVPAR increased 18.5 percent (11.5 percent using constant dollars) with double-digit growth in Central and Southeast Asia, Latin America, Continental Europe and the Middle East;

-- First quarter total fee revenue rose to $318 million, 7 percent over the prior year;

-- The company's worldwide pipeline of hotels under construction, awaiting conversion or approved for development increased to a record 130,000 rooms compared to 100,000 rooms a year ago and 125,000 rooms at the end of 2007;

-- Over 5,900 rooms opened during the first quarter, including almost 1,500 rooms conve

rted from competitor brands. New properties included the Renaissance Boston Waterfront hotel (photo at left) and the Denver Ritz-Carlton hotel (photo at right below.)

-- Marriott repurchased 6.2 million shares of the company's common stock for $208 million during the first quarter.

(For a copy of Marriott International's detailed news release, please contact Tom Marder at 1 301 380 2553 or e-mail at thomas.marder@marriott.com.)

Marriott International, Inc. (NYSE:MAR) reported diluted earnings per share (EPS) from continuing operations of $0.33 in the first quarter of 2008, down 18 percent from the first quarter of 2007. The company's EPS guidance for the 2008 first quarter, disclosed on February 14, 2008, totaled $0.32 to $0.36.

J.W. Marriott, Jr.,(top right photo) Marriott International's chairman and chief executive officer, said, "Marriott's first quarter results demonstrated the company's strength. Leading brands and a focus on bottom line results delivered strong, on-target earnings in the first quarter.

"Business and leisure travel demand remains robust in most markets around the world. REVPAR at our international properties expanded by 19 percent, along with solid margin improvement and growing incentive fees.

"While performance at our U.S. hotels reflected slowing economic growth, few markets have witnessed discounting and full service room rates rose 4 p

ercent during the quarter. With the U.S. on sale through a lower dollar, international guest arrivals are energizing demand in several key markets.

"Attendance at group meetings was on track during the quarter and group cancellations remained lower than 2007 levels. Group meeting bookings for the remainder of 2008 are strong. Given these trends, we remain cautiously optimistic about 2008 demand trends. (Photo of Denver Ritz-Carlton, a new Marriott acquisition, at right).

"We expect to meet our hotel development goals in 2008. Our pipeline of hotels under construction, awaiting conversion or approved for development increased to over 130,000 rooms in the first quarter.

"Our record pipeline of limited-service hotels demonstrates how our owners and franchisees see great opportunity as we continue to remake these brands, generating significant REVPAR premiums and attractive long-term owner returns.

"As a global company, we're a global neighbor. We recently signed an agreement to help protect 1.4 million acres of endangered Amazon rainforest in Brazil and we're taking new steps to reduce our consumption of the earth's resources."

BALANCE SHEET

At the end of first quarter 2008, total debt was $3,395 million and cash balances totaled $314 million, compared to $2,965 million in debt and $332 million of cash at the end of 2007.

The company repurchased 6.2 million shares of common stoc

k in the first quarter of 2008 at a cost of $208 million. (Photo of Marco Island, FL where Marriott has ongoing projects, is at left).

Weighted average fully diluted shares outstanding totaled 371.9 million at the end of the first quarter compared to 411.3 million at the end of the year-ago quarter. The remaining share repurchase authorization, as of March 21, 2008, totaled approximately 27 million shares.

OUTLOOK

The company expects worldwide systemwide comparable REVPAR and North American company-operated comparable REVPAR to increase 3 to 5 percent in 2008, with modest increases in North American house profit margins and roughly 30,000 new room openings.

For the full year 2008, the company expects timeshare sales and services revenue, net of direct expenses, to total $300 million to $315 million, reflecting approximately $70 million of timeshare note sale gains. Timeshare segment results in 2008 are expected to be $280 million to $295 million, with contract sales growth of 15 to 20 percent.

(Photo at right shows the Amazon River slicing through Brazil's Rainforest where Marriott is helping to protect 1.4 million acres of endangered forest areas.)