MCLEAN, Va. - April 29, 2015 - (BUSINESS WIRE) - Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. ("Hilton," "Hilton Worldwide" or the "Company") (NYSE: HLT) today reported its first quarter 2015 results and raised its full year 2015 outlook. Highlights include:
For the three months ended March 31, 2015, earnings per share ("EPS") was $0.15 compared to $0.12 for the three months ended March 31, 2014, and EPS, adjusted for special items, was $0.12 for the three months ended March 31, 2015 compared to $0.13 for three months ended March 31, 2014. Adjusted EBITDA increased 18 percent to $599 million for the three months ended March 31, 2015, compared to $508 million for the three months ended March 31, 2014 and net income attributable to Hilton stockholders was $150 million for the three months ended March 31, 2015 compared to $123 million for the three months ended March 31, 2014.
Christopher J. Nassetta, President & Chief Executive Officer of Hilton Worldwide, said, "We started the year with another strong quarter, with top line growth at the high end of our guidance, despite significant weather impact in the U.S., and strong fee growth and owned asset performance, that all resulted in Adjusted EBITDA exceeding our guidance. Our portfolio of industry-leading brands continues to fuel our growth, resulting in the industry's largest pipeline and most rooms under construction globally."
Management and franchise fees were $391 million in the first quarter of 2015, an increase of 18 percent compared to the same period in 2014. RevPAR at comparable managed and franchised hotels in the first quarter of 2015 increased 6.9 percent on a currency neutral basis (a 5.4 percent increase in actual dollars) compared to the same period in 2014. The increase in RevPAR at comparable managed and franchised hotels and new units have yielded continued fee growth during the first quarter of 2015, including incentive management fees, which increased 16 percent on a currency neutral basis compared to the same period in 2014.
Revenues from the ownership segment were $964 million in the first quarter of 2015, and ownership segment Adjusted EBITDA was $190 million, an increase of 9 percent from the same period in 2014. Adjusted EBITDA margin(1) increased over 130 basis points. RevPAR at comparable hotels in the ownership segment increased 4.3 percent on a currency neutral basis (a 0.8 percent decrease in actual dollars) in the first quarter of 2015 compared to the same period in 2014, with an increase in RevPAR of 4.1 percent at comparable ownership segment hotels in the United States. Outside of the United States, RevPAR at comparable ownership segment hotels increased by 4.7 percent on a currency neutral basis (a 7.4 percent decrease in actual dollars).
Hilton plans to complete the previously-announced 1031 exchange by deploying the last portion of the Waldorf Astoria New York sale proceeds to acquire what is currently the Cypress Hotel in Cupertino, California for $112 million. The transaction is expected to close during the second quarter.
Hilton continues to harvest value in its owned portfolio, announcing plans to sell the Hilton Sydney at attractive pricing in a tax-efficient manner. As part of the A$442 million Australian Dollar sale, Hilton will continue to manage this property, subject to a 50-year management agreement. Hilton expects to use the proceeds of the sale, net of transaction costs, to further reduce long-term debt.
(1) Calculated as ownership segment Adjusted EBITDA divided by ownership segment revenues.
Timeshare segment revenue for the first quarter of 2015 was $321 million, an increase of 15 percent from 2014, and timeshare Adjusted EBITDA was $74 million. Commissions recognized from the sale of third-party developed timeshare intervals increased $72 million during the first quarter of 2015 from the same period in 2014, while sales revenue on owned inventory decreased $34 million.
In the first quarter of 2015, 78 percent of intervals sold were developed by third parties. Hilton Worldwide's overall supply of timeshare intervals as of March 31, 2015 was approximately 128,000 intervals, or over five years of projected supply at the current sales pace, of which 104,000, or 81 percent, were developed by third parties.
Hilton Worldwide opened 53 hotels with over 8,000 rooms during the first quarter of 2015, over 40 percent of which were conversions from non-Hilton brands, and achieved net unit growth of nearly 6,000 rooms.
As of March 31, 2015, Hilton Worldwide had the largest rooms pipeline in the lodging industry(2), with approximately 240,000 rooms at 1,432 hotels throughout 81 countries and territories, of which 56 percent, or approximately 134,000 rooms, were located outside of the United States. All of the development pipeline is in the capital light management and franchise segment, and over half, or approximately 126,000 rooms, were under construction. At nearly 20 percent, Hilton Worldwide also has the largest share of rooms under construction globally(2). Including all agreements approved but not signed, Hilton Worldwide's pipeline totaled nearly 255,000 rooms.
Hilton Worldwide's most recently launched brands, Canopy by Hilton, an accessible lifestyle brand, and Curio - A Collection by Hilton, representing independent, one-of-a-kind properties, have over 50 properties and 13,000 rooms open or in various stages of development.
(2) Source: Smith Travel Research, Inc. ("STR") Global New Development Pipeline (March 2015).
During the first quarter of 2015, Hilton reduced its long-term debt balance by $225 million, including a $150 million voluntary prepayment on its senior secured term loan facility. Additionally, Hilton repaid in full the amounts outstanding under its existing $525 million mortgage loan on the Waldorf Astoria New York (the "Waldorf Astoria Loan") using the proceeds from the sale of the Waldorf Astoria New York and assumed a $450 million mortgage loan from the acquisition of the resort complex consisting of the Waldorf Astoria Orlando and the Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek in Orlando, Florida. In April 2015, Hilton made an additional $100 million voluntary prepayment on its senior secured term loan facility. Hilton plans to use the net proceeds of the sale of the Hilton Sydney, estimated to be approximately $325 million, to further reduce long-term debt.
As of March 31, 2015, Hilton had $10.6 billion of outstanding indebtedness with a weighted average interest rate of 4.2 percent, excluding $848 million of non-recourse debt.
Total cash and cash equivalents were $816 million as of March 31, 2015, including $269 million of restricted cash and cash equivalents. No borrowings were outstanding under the $1.0 billion revolving credit facility as of March 31, 2015.
Hilton Worldwide will host a conference call to discuss first quarter 2015 results on April 29, 2015 at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time. Participants may listen to the live webcast by logging onto the Hilton Worldwide Investor Relations website at http://ir.hiltonworldwide.com/investors/events-and-presentations. A replay and transcript of the webcast will be available within 24 hours after the live event at http://ir.hiltonworldwide.com/investors/financial-reporting/quarterly-results.
Alternatively, participants may listen to the live call by dialing 1-877-201-0168 in the United States or 1-647-788-4901 internationally. Please use the conference ID 14724435. Participants are encouraged to dial into the call or link to the webcast at least fifteen minutes prior to the scheduled start time. A telephone replay will be available for seven days following the call. To access the telephone replay, dial 1-855-859-2056 using the Conference ID 14724435.
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements related to the expectations regarding the performance of Hilton's business, financial results, liquidity and capital resources and other non-historical statements, including the statements in the "Outlook" section of this press release. You can identify these forward-looking statements by the use of words such as "outlook," "believes," "expects," "potential," "continues," "may," "will," "should," "could," "seeks," "projects," "predicts," "intends," "plans," "estimates," "anticipates" or the negative version of these words or other comparable words. Such forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties, including, among others, risks inherent to the hospitality industry, macroeconomic factors beyond Hilton's control, competition for hotel guests, management and franchise agreements and timeshare sales, risks related to doing business with third-party hotel owners, Hilton's significant investments in owned and leased real estate, performance of Hilton's information technology systems, growth of reservation channels outside of Hilton's system, risks of doing business outside of the United States and Hilton's indebtedness. Additional factors that could cause Hilton's results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements can be found under the section entitled "Part I—Item 1A. Risk Factors" of the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2014, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), as such factors may be updated from time to time in Hilton's periodic filings with the SEC, which are accessible on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. Accordingly, there are or will be important factors that could cause actual outcomes or results to differ materially from those indicated in these statements. These factors should not be construed as exhaustive and should be read in conjunction with the other cautionary statements that are included in this release and in Hilton's filings with the SEC. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or review any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as required by law.
The Company refers to certain non-GAAP financial measures in this press release, including net income and EPS, adjusted for special items, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA margins and Net Debt. Please see the schedules to the press release and "Definitions" for additional information and reconciliations of such non-GAAP financial measures.
Hilton Worldwide (NYSE: HLT) is a leading global hospitality company, spanning the lodging sector from luxury and full-service hotels and resorts to extended-stay suites and focused-service hotels. For 95 years, Hilton Worldwide has been dedicated to continuing its tradition of providing exceptional guest experiences. The Company’s portfolio of 12 world-class global brands is comprised of 4,362 managed, franchised, owned and leased hotels and timeshare properties, with 720,701 rooms in 94 countries and territories, including Hilton Hotels & Resorts, Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts, Conrad Hotels & Resorts, Canopy by Hilton, Curio - A Collection by Hilton, DoubleTree by Hilton, Embassy Suites Hotels, Hilton Garden Inn, Hampton Hotels, Homewood Suites by Hilton, Home2 Suites by Hilton and Hilton Grand Vacations. The Company also manages an award-winning customer loyalty program, Hilton HHonors®. Visit news.hiltonworldwide.com for more information and connect with Hilton Worldwide at www.facebook.com/hiltonworldwide, www.twitter.com/hiltonworldwide, www.youtube.com/hiltonworldwide, www.flickr.com/hiltonworldwide and www.linkedin.com/company/hilton-worldwide.
View Original for Full Data Table
View Original for Full Data Table
View Original for Full Data Table
View Original for Full Data Table
View Original for Full Data Table
View Original for Full Data Table
View Original for Full Data Table
View Original for Full Data Table
View Original for Full Data Table
View Original for Full Data Table
View Original for Full Data Table
View Original for Full Data Table
View Original for Full Data Table
View Original for Full Data Table
View Original for Full Data Table
View Original for Full Data Table
View Original for Full Data Table
View Original for Full Data Table
View Original for Full Data Table
View Original for Full Data Table
View Original for Full Data Table
View Original for Full Data Table
View Original for Full Data Table
View Original for Full Data Table
View Original for Full Data Table
View Original for Full Data Table
View Original for Full Data Table
View Original for Full Data Table
View Original for Full Data Table
View Original for Full Data Table
View Original for Full Data Table
HILTON WORLDWIDE HOLDINGS INC.
DEFINITIONS
EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Margin
Earnings before interest expense, taxes and depreciation and amortization ("EBITDA"), presented herein, is a financial measure not recognized under United States ("U.S.") generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP") that reflects net income attributable to Hilton stockholders, excluding interest expense, a provision for income taxes and depreciation and amortization. The Company considers EBITDA to be a useful measure of operating performance, due to the significance of the Company's long-lived assets and level of indebtedness.
Adjusted EBITDA, presented herein, is calculated as EBITDA, as previously defined, further adjusted to exclude certain items, including, but not limited to, gains, losses and expenses in connection with: (i) asset dispositions for both consolidated and unconsolidated investments; (ii) foreign currency transactions; (iii) debt restructurings/retirements; (iv) non-cash impairment losses; (v) furniture, fixtures and equipment ("FF&E") replacement reserves required under certain lease agreements; (vi) reorganization costs; (vii) share-based and certain other compensation expenses; (viii) severance, relocation and other expenses; and (ix) other items.
Adjusted EBITDA Margin represents Adjusted EBITDA as a percentage of total revenues, excluding other revenues from managed and franchised properties.
EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Margin are not recognized terms under U.S. GAAP and should not be considered as alternatives to net income (loss) or other measures of financial performance or liquidity derived in accordance with U.S. GAAP. In addition, the Company's definitions of EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Margin may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies.
The Company believes that EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Margin provide useful information to investors about the Company and its financial condition and results of operations for the following reasons: (i) EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Margin are among the measures used by the Company's management team to evaluate its operating performance and make day-to-day operating decisions; and (ii) EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Margin are frequently used by securities analysts, investors and other interested parties as a common performance measure to compare results or estimate valuations across companies in the industry.
EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Margin have limitations as analytical tools and should not be considered either in isolation or as a substitute for net income (loss), cash flow or other methods of analyzing results as reported under U.S. GAAP.
Net income and EPS, adjusted for special items, are not recognized terms under U.S. GAAP and should not be considered as alternatives to net income (loss) or other measures of financial performance or liquidity derived in accordance with U.S. GAAP. In addition, the Company's definition of Net income and EPS, adjusted for special items, may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies.
Net income and EPS, adjusted for special items, are included to assist investors in performing meaningful comparisons of past, present and future operating results and as a means of highlighting the results of the Company's ongoing operations.
Net Debt, presented herein, is a non-GAAP financial measure that the Company uses to evaluate its financial leverage. Net Debt is calculated as (i) long-term debt, including current maturities; (ii) non-recourse debt, including current maturities and excluding amounts secured by timeshare financing receivables; (iii) the Company's share of investments in affiliate debt; reduced by (a) cash and cash equivalents; and (b) restricted cash and cash equivalents.
The Company believes Net Debt provides useful information about its indebtedness to investors as it is frequently used by securities analysts, investors and other interested parties to compare the indebtedness of companies. Net Debt should not be considered as a substitute to debt presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Net debt may not be comparable to a similarly titled measure of other companies.
The Company defines comparable hotels as those that: (i) were active and operating in the Company's system for at least one full calendar year as of the end of the current period, and open January 1st of the previous year; (ii) have not undergone a change in brand or ownership during the current or comparable periods reported; and (iii) have not sustained substantial property damage, business interruption, undergone large-scale capital projects or for which comparable results are not available.
Of the 4,318 hotels in the Company's system as of March 31, 2015, 3,765 were classified as comparable hotels. The 553 non-comparable hotels included 81 properties, or approximately two percent of the total hotels in the system, that were removed from the comparable group during the last twelve months because they sustained substantial property damage, business interruption, underwent large-scale capital projects or comparable results were not available.
Occupancy represents the total number of room nights sold divided by the total number of room nights available at a hotel or group of hotels. Occupancy measures the utilization of the hotels' available capacity. Management uses occupancy to gauge demand at a specific hotel or group of hotels in a given period. Occupancy levels also help management determine achievable Average Daily Rate ("ADR") levels as demand for hotel rooms increases or decreases.
ADR represents hotel room revenue divided by total number of room nights sold in a given period. ADR measures average room price attained by a hotel and ADR trends provide useful information concerning the pricing environment and the nature of the customer base of a hotel or group of hotels. ADR is a commonly used performance measure in the industry, and management uses ADR to assess pricing levels that the Company is able to generate by type of customer, as changes in rates have a different effect on overall revenues and incremental profitability than changes in occupancy, as described above.
The Company calculates Revenue per Available Room ("RevPAR") by dividing hotel room revenue by room nights available to guests for a given period. Management considers RevPAR to be a meaningful indicator of the Company's performance as it provides a metric correlated to two primary and key drivers of operations at Hilton hotels: occupancy and ADR. RevPAR is also a useful indicator in measuring performance over comparable periods for comparable hotels.
References to RevPAR, ADR and occupancy throughout this press release are presented on a comparable basis and references to RevPAR and ADR are presented on a currency neutral basis (all periods use the same exchange rates), unless otherwise noted.
SOURCE Hilton Worldwide
Christian Charnaux
Investor Relations
+1 703 883 5205
Aaron Radelet
Media Relations
+1 703 883 5804
Hilton Worldwide (NYSE: HLT) is a leading global hospitality company, spanning the lodging sector from luxury and full-service hotels and resorts to extended-stay suites and focused-service hotels.