Hyatt Hotels (H) Reports In-Line Q1 EPS

Hyatt Hotels (NYSE: H) reported Q1 EPS of $0.25, in-line with the analyst estimate of $0.25.

Mark S. Hoplamazian, president and chief executive officer of Hyatt Hotels Corporation, said, "We are pleased with our solid start to the year and encouraged by positive trends in our business. First quarter Adjusted EBITDA grew 9%, excluding the impact of transactions and foreign currency translation, driven by broad-based market share gains, robust performance at our select service hotels and disciplined cost management. Based on current trends, we remain confident in our ability to achieve comparable systemwide RevPAR growth of 3.0% to 5.0% for the year."

First quarter 2016 financial highlights as compared to the first quarter of 2015 are as follows:

• Adjusted EBITDA increased 4.9% to $194 million, up 7.2% in constant currency.
• Comparable systemwide RevPAR increased 2.2%, including an increase of 3.7% at comparable owned and leased hotels.
• Comparable U.S. full service and select service hotel RevPAR increased 1.7% and 6.5%, respectively.
• Net hotel and net rooms growth was 9% and 7%, respectively.
• Comparable owned and leased hotels operating margins were stable at 25.0%.

Mr. Hoplamazian continued, "Our first quarter results reflect solid progress towards our goal to become the most preferred hospitality brand, as we gained RevPAR market share in each of our segments. Despite headwinds from holiday shifts, comparable systemwide RevPAR grew 2.2% in the quarter. This included a 3.7% RevPAR increase at comparable owned and leased hotels, which also grew market share over the quarter, demonstrating the quality of our owned and leased portfolio. Operating results were also strong at our select service hotels, with RevPAR growth of 6.8% in the Americas and market share gains at nearly two-thirds of our select service properties over the quarter.

"We also made solid progress on our growth efforts, opening 21 new hotels year-to-date, and further expanding our portfolio of brands with the launch of The Unbound Collection by Hyatt. Two particularly significant additions to our portfolio are the beach-front 436-room Grand Hyatt Rio de Janeiro, which we opened in March, and our April acquisition of the 380-room Thompson Hotel in Miami Beach, which we rebranded as The Confidante and added to The Unbound Collection by Hyatt. Both hotels represent Hyatt’s expansion into key markets with significant unmet demand from our guests. Further, each of these developments reflects the strength of our balance sheet, which allows us to strategically invest in our business while continuing to return capital to our shareholders. As of April 29, 2016, we repurchased $84 million of common stock year-to-date and have $295 million remaining under our share repurchase authorization.

"Looking forward, we remain confident in our expectations for continued growth in 2016. Over the long-term, we expect to continue to create significant shareholder value, given our strong brands, high-quality portfolio and strong balance sheet."

2016 OUTLOOK

The Company is reaffirming the following information for the 2016 fiscal year:

• Comparable systemwide RevPAR is expected to increase approximately 3.0% to 5.0%, as compared to fiscal year 2015.
• Adjusted selling, general, and administrative expenses are expected to be approximately $290 million. This excludes approximately $30 million of stock-based compensation expense. As previously announced, effective January 1, 2016, the Company's definition of Adjusted EBITDA has been updated to exclude stock-based compensation expense.
• The Company expects to open more than 60 hotels in 2016.
• In addition to the capital expenditures described below, the Company intends to continue a strong level of investment spending. Investment spending includes acquisitions, equity investments in joint ventures, debt investments, contract acquisition costs or other investments.

The Company is revising the following information for the 2016 fiscal year:

• Capital expenditures are expected to be approximately $275 million (consistent with previous expectation), including approximately $70 million (compared to previous expectation of approximately $90 million) for investment in new properties.
• Depreciation and amortization expense is expected to be approximately $350 million (compared to previous expectation of approximately $325 million).
• Interest expense is expected to be approximately $75 million (compared to previous expectation of approximately $70 million).

For earnings history and earnings-related data on Hyatt Hotels (H) click here.

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