Hilton Worldwide Holdings has reported its third quarter 2020 results, which indicate higher than expected earnings. According to analysis by Baird Equity Research, the company’s third quarter earnings were ahead of expectation, with the primary drivers being higher fees (plus-US$20 million, primarily franchise and licensing fees), lower general and administrative expense (plus-US$13 million ex-stock comp), and several other smaller items.
“Overall, operating fundamentals generally matched our expectations with the positives being the headline earnings beat and the increased net unit growth outlook for this year; the offsets include a slower pace of sequential new signings and slightly higher-than-forecasted cash burn during the quarter,” Baird said in an analysis.
Other key highlights include:
- Net loss of US$81 million
- Adjusted EBITDA of US$224 million
- System-wide comparable RevPAR decreased 59.9% on a currency neutral basis for the third quarter from the same period in 2019
- Approved 17,400 new rooms for development during the third quarter, bringing Hilton’s development pipeline to 408,000 rooms as of September 30, representing 8% growth from September 30, 2019
- Opened 17,100 rooms in the third quarter, contributing to 14,800 net additional rooms in Hilton’s system, representing 4.7% net unit growth from September 30, with full year net unit growth expected to be between 4.5% and 5%