Marriott International Reports Third Quarter 2019 Results

BETHESDA, Md., Nov. 4, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- 

HIGHLIGHTS

• Third quarter reported diluted EPS totaled $1.16, compared to $1.43 in the year-ago quarter. Third quarter adjusted diluted EPS totaled $1.47, compared to third quarter 2018 adjusted diluted EPS of $1.70. Reported and adjusted diluted EPS for the 2018 third quarter included $0.26 of asset sale gains;
• Third quarter 2019 comparable systemwide constant dollar RevPAR rose 1.5 percent worldwide, 1.9 percent outside North America and 1.3 percent in North America;
• The company added more than 17,700 rooms during the third quarter, including roughly 3,100 rooms converted from competitor brands and approximately 6,700 rooms in international markets;
• At quarter-end, Marriott's worldwide development pipeline totaled roughly 2,950 hotels and nearly 495,000 rooms, including more than 31,000 rooms approved, but not yet subject to signed contracts. Approximately 214,000 pipeline rooms were under construction at the end of the third quarter;
• Third quarter reported net income totaled $387 million, a 23 percent decrease from prior year results. Third quarter adjusted net income totaled $488 million, an 18 percent decrease from prior year adjusted results;
• Adjusted EBITDA totaled $901 million in the quarter, flat compared to third quarter 2018 adjusted EBITDA;
• Marriott repurchased 3.8 million shares of the company's common stock for $500 million during the third quarter. Year-to-date through November 1, the company has repurchased 14.2 million shares for $1.83 billion.

Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAR) today reported solid third quarter 2019 results.

Arne M. Sorenson, president and chief executive officer of Marriott International, said, "It's been just over three years since the completion of the Starwood acquisition.  In that time, we've realized meaningful synergies, enhanced guest satisfaction, and recycled more than $2.2 billion of assets.  Earlier this year, we launched our new loyalty program, Marriott Bonvoy, which provides meaningfully enhanced member benefits while leveraging our broad portfolio and significant hotel distribution.  With more than 12 million guests joining Marriott Bonvoy since the beginning of the year, program membership reached 137 million in the quarter and the percentage of occupancy from members increased 320 basis points worldwide.

"In the third quarter, our worldwide comparable systemwide constant dollar RevPAR increased 1.5 percent, consistent with our guidance, while our global RevPAR index rose 210 basis points.  Our sales organization is hitting its stride.  For comparable hotels in North America, group revenue booked in the third quarter for all future periods increased 6 percent and, today, group revenue pace for 2020 is up at a mid-single digit growth rate.  

"Year-to-date through November 1, we have already returned nearly $2.3 billion to shareholders.  For full year 2019, we expect cash returned to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases could approach $3 billion.

"We expect continued strong demand for our products.  For the fourth quarter of 2019, we expect comparable RevPAR on a constant dollar basis will increase 0 to 1 percent in North America, roughly 1 percent outside North America, and roughly 1 percent worldwide.  For full year 2020, we expect comparable systemwide RevPAR on a constant dollar basis will be flat to up 2 percent worldwide, with RevPAR growth in North America around the middle of that range." 

Third Quarter 2019 Results
Marriott's reported net income totaled $387 million in the 2019 third quarter, compared to 2018 third quarter reported net income of $503 million.  Reported diluted earnings per share (EPS) totaled $1.16 in the quarter, compared to reported diluted EPS of $1.43 in the year-ago quarter.

Third quarter 2019 adjusted net income totaled $488 million, compared to 2018 third quarter adjusted net income of $598 million.  Adjusted diluted EPS in the third quarter totaled $1.47, compared to adjusted diluted EPS of $1.70 in the year-ago quarter.  Adjusted results for the 2019 third quarter include a $9 million pretax ($0.02 per share) asset sale gain in gains and other income, net. Adjusted results for the 2018 third quarter include $71 million pretax ($0.26 per share) of asset sale gains in gains and other income, net and equity in earnings.  See page A-3 for the calculation of adjusted results.  Adjusted results exclude merger-related costs and charges, cost reimbursement revenue, and reimbursed expenses.

Base management and franchise fees totaled $821 million in the 2019 third quarter, a 5 percent increase over base management and franchise fees of $781 million in the year-ago quarter.  The year-over-year increase in these fees is primarily attributable to rooms growth and RevPAR growth, partially offset by $15 million of lower residential branding fees.

Third quarter 2019 incentive management fees totaled $134 million, an 11 percent decrease compared to incentive management fees of $151 million in the year-ago quarter.  The year-over-year decrease largely reflects lower net house profits at North American managed hotels.

Owned, leased, and other revenue, net of direct expenses, totaled $67 million in the 2019 third quarter, compared to $82 million in the year-ago quarter.  Compared to the year-ago quarter, results decreased largely due to $12 million of lower termination fees.

In the 2019 third quarter, the company incurred $6 million of expenses and recognized $9 million of insurance recoveries related to the data security incident it disclosed on November 30, 2018.  The expenses and insurance recoveries are reflected in either the reimbursed expenses or merger-related costs and charges lines of the Income Statement, both of which have been excluded from adjusted net income, adjusted EPS and adjusted EBITDA. 

Gains and other income, net, totaled $10 million, compared to $18 million in the year-ago quarter.  Gains and other income, net, in the 2019 third quarter largely reflects a $9 million payment received for our share of the proceeds from the sale of a managed North American limited-service hotel.  Gains and other income, net, in the 2018 third quarter largely reflected a $12 million adjustment to the gain on the 2018 second quarter sale of two hotels in the Asia Pacific region, and a $4 million gain on the sale of a joint venture's asset. 

Interest expense, net, totaled $92 million in the third quarter compared to $81 million in the year-ago quarter.  The increase is largely due to higher debt balances.

Equity in earnings for the third quarter totaled $2 million, compared to $61 million in the year-ago quarter.  The 2018 third quarter included a $55 million gain on a joint venture's sale of a hotel in Latin America.

Selected Performance Information
The company added 117 new properties (17,720 rooms) to its worldwide lodging portfolio during the 2019 third quarter, including The West Hollywood EDITION, JW Marriott Marquis Hotel Shanghai Pudong, and Sheraton Bishkek, the company's first hotel in Kyrgyzstan.  Eleven properties (1,464 rooms) exited the system during the quarter.  At quarter-end, Marriott's lodging system encompassed 7,200 properties and timeshare resorts with nearly 1,362,000 rooms.

At quarter-end, the company's worldwide development pipeline totaled 2,947 properties with nearly 495,000 rooms, including 1,172 properties with approximately 214,000 rooms under construction and 201 properties with more than 31,000 rooms approved for development, but not yet subject to signed contracts.

In the 2019 third quarter, worldwide comparable systemwide constant dollar RevPAR increased 1.5 percent (a 0.9 percent increase using actual dollars).  North American comparable systemwide constant dollar RevPAR increased 1.3 percent (a 1.3 percent increase using actual dollars), and international comparable systemwide constant dollar RevPAR increased 1.9 percent (a 0.2 percent decrease using actual dollars) for the same period.

Worldwide comparable company-operated house profit margins decreased 30 basis points in the third quarter, reflecting the impact of modest RevPAR growth and higher wages offset by solid cost controls and synergies from the Starwood acquisition.  House profit margins for international comparable company-operated properties increased 10 basis points and North American comparable company-operated house profit margins decreased 70 basis points in the third quarter.

Balance Sheet
At quarter-end, Marriott's total debt was $10,779 million and cash balances totaled $276 million, compared to $9,347 million in debt and $316 million of cash at year-end 2018.

In October 2019, the company issued $550 million of Series DD Senior Notes due in 2022. The company expects to use the net proceeds for general corporate purposes.

Marriott Common Stock
Weighted average fully diluted shares outstanding used to calculate both reported and adjusted diluted EPS totaled 332.5 million in the 2019 third quarter, compared to 350.6 million shares in the year-ago quarter.

The company repurchased 3.8 million shares of common stock in the 2019 third quarter for $500 million at an average price of $133.41 per share.  Year-to-date through November 1, the company has repurchased 14.2 million shares for $1.83 billion at an average price of $128.79 per share.

2019 Outlook
The following outlook for fourth quarter and full year 2019 does not include merger-related costs and charges, cost reimbursement revenue or reimbursed expenses, which the company cannot accurately forecast, and which may be significant, nor does it include the expected gain on the sale of the St. Regis New York.

For the 2019 fourth quarter, Marriott expects comparable systemwide RevPAR on a constant dollar basis will be flat to up 1 percent in North America, increase roughly 1 percent outside North America, and increase roughly 1 percent worldwide.

The company assumes fourth quarter 2019 gross fee revenues will total $960 million to $970 million, a 5 to 7 percent increase over fourth quarter 2018 gross fee revenues of $910 million.  The company anticipates fourth quarter 2019 incentive management fees will be roughly flat compared to fourth quarter 2018 incentive management fees of $167 million.  Compared to the estimate the company provided on August 5, this gross fee revenues estimate largely reflects more modest RevPAR growth and margins, including the impact of the recent events in Hong Kong, and unfavorable foreign exchange.

The company expects fourth quarter 2019 general, administrative, and other expenses could total $250 million to $255 million. General, administrative, and other expenses in the 2018 fourth quarter included a $7 million expense for the company's supplemental investments in its workforce.

Marriott expects fourth quarter 2019 adjusted EBITDA could total $898 million to $913 million, a 4 to 6 percent increase over fourth quarter 2018 adjusted EBITDA of $864 million.  This estimate reflects the sale of the St. Regis New York, but not any gain associated with the transaction, nor any additional asset sales that may occur in the fourth quarter of 2019.  See page A-12 for the adjusted EBITDA calculation.

For the full year 2019, Marriott expects comparable systemwide RevPAR on a constant dollar basis will increase roughly 1 percent in North America, roughly 2 percent outside North America, and roughly 1 percent worldwide.

Marriott anticipates global net room additions of 5.0 to 5.25 percent for full year 2019.

The company expects full year 2019 gross fee revenues will total $3,809 million to $3,819 million, a 5 percent increase over 2018 gross fee revenues of $3,638 million, including $20 million of unfavorable foreign exchange.  Full year 2019 estimated gross fee revenues include $400 million to $410 million of credit card branding fees, compared to $380 million for full year 2018.

Marriott anticipates full year 2019 owned, leased, and other revenue, net of direct expenses, could total $289 million.  This estimate reflects approximately $35 million of lower termination fees year-over-year.  This outlook for full year 2019 reflects the sale of the St. Regis New York in the fourth quarter, but does not reflect any additional asset sales that may occur during the remainder of the year. 

The company expects full year 2019 general, administrative, and other expenses could total $921 million to $926 million, flat to down 1 percent from full year 2018 expenses of $927 million.  Full year 2018 general, administrative, and other expenses included a $51 million expense for the company's supplemental investments in its workforce.

The company anticipates full year 2019 diluted EPS could total $5.87 to $5.90, a 5 percent decline compared to 2018 adjusted diluted EPS of $6.21.  Full year 2019 guidance includes the $9 million pre-tax ($0.02 per share) asset sale gain in gains and other income, net, recognized in the 2019 third quarter, but does not include any gain on the sale of the St. Regis New York.  Full year adjusted 2018 results include $183 million pre-tax ($0.44 per share) of asset sale gains in gains and other income, net and $65 million pre-tax ($0.21 per share) of asset sale gains in equity in earnings.  

Marriott expects full year 2019 adjusted EBITDA could total $3,572 million to $3,587 million, a 3 percent increase over 2018 adjusted EBITDA of $3,473 million.  See page A-13 for the adjusted EBITDA calculation.

The company expects investment spending in 2019 will total approximately $1,000 million to $1,100 million, including approximately $225 million for maintenance capital.  Investment spending also includes other capital expenditures (including property acquisitions), new mezzanine financing and mortgage notes, contract acquisition costs, and equity and other investments.  Compared to the forecasted investment spending the company provided on August 5, 2019, the increase in spending reflects the purchase of the W New York – Union Square and the expected acquisition of Elegant Hotels Group plc.  The company estimates $550 million to $600 million of its 2019 investment spending will be reimbursed or recycled over time. 

In the fourth quarter, the company sold the St Regis New York for $310 million subject to a long-term management agreement.  Assuming the level of investment spending noted above and no additional asset sales, cash returned to shareholders through share repurchases and dividends could approach $3 billion for full year 2019.

2020 Outlook
For the full year 2020, Marriott expects comparable systemwide RevPAR on a constant dollar basis will be flat to up 2 percent worldwide with the increase in North America in the middle of the range.

Marriott anticipates its global net rooms growth rate in 2020 will be comparable to its expectation for 2019.

Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAR) will conduct its quarterly earnings review for the investment community and news media on Tuesday, November 5, 2019 at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time (ET).  The conference call will be webcast simultaneously via Marriott's investor relations website at http://www.marriott.com/investor, click on "Events & Presentations" and click on the quarterly conference call link.  A replay will be available at that same website until November 5, 2020.

The telephone dial-in number for the conference call is 706-679-3455 and the conference ID is 3781075.  A telephone replay of the conference call will be available from 4:00 p.m. ET, Tuesday, November 5, 2019 until 8:00 p.m. ET, Monday, November 11, 2019.  To access the replay, call 404-537-3406.  The conference ID for the recording is 3781075.

Note on forward-looking statements:  This press release and accompanying schedules contain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of federal securities laws, including our RevPAR, profit margin and earnings outlook and assumptions; the number of lodging properties we expect to add to or remove from our system in the future; our expectations regarding planned acquisitions and dispositions; our expectations regarding new product offerings; our expectations regarding the estimates of the impact of new accounting standards; our expectations about investment spending and tax rate; and similar statements concerning anticipated future events and expectations that are not historical facts.  We caution you that these statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, including those we identify below and other risk factors that we identify in our most recent quarterly report on Form 10-Q or annual report on Form 10-K.  Risks that could affect forward-looking statements in this press release include changes in market conditions; changes in global and regional economies; supply and demand changes for hotel rooms; competitive conditions in the lodging industry; relationships with clients and property owners; the availability of capital to finance hotel growth and refurbishment; the extent to which we experience adverse effects from the data security incident; changes in tax laws in countries in which we earn significant income; and changes to our estimates of the impact of new accounting standards.  Any of these factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the expectations we express or imply in this press release.  We make these forward-looking statements as of November 4, 2019.  We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAR) is based in Bethesda, Maryland, USA, and encompasses a portfolio of more than 7,200 properties under 30 leading brands spanning 134 countries and territories. Marriott operates and franchises hotels and licenses vacation ownership resorts all around the world.  The company now offers one travel program, Marriott Bonvoy™, replacing Marriott Rewards®, The Ritz-Carlton Rewards®, and Starwood Preferred Guest®(SPG).  For more information, please visit our website at www.marriott.com, and for the latest company news, visit www.marriottnewscenter.com.  In addition, connect with us on Facebook and @MarriottIntl on Twitter and Instagram.

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