Starwood Hotels Earnings: Exceeds Forecasts with Boost of Profit Rise

S&P 500 (NYSE:SPY) component Starwood Hotel & Resorts Worldwide Inc. (NYSE:HOT) reported net income above Wall Street’s expectations for the third quarter. Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide operates in the hotel and leisure business. Its brand names include St. Regis, The Luxury Collection, W and Westin.

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Starwood Hotel & Resorts Worldwide Inc. Earnings Cheat Sheet

Results: Net income for Starwood Hotel & Resorts Worldwide Inc. rose to $170 million (87 cents per share) vs. $163 million (84 cents per share) in the same quarter a year earlier. This marks a rise of 4.3% from the year-earlier quarter.

Revenue: Rose 6% to $1.46 billion from the year-earlier quarter.

Actual vs. Wall St. Expectations: Starwood Hotel & Resorts Worldwide Inc. beat the mean analyst estimate of 53 cents per share. It fell short of the average revenue estimate of $1.56 billion.

Quoting Management: Frits van Paasschen, CEO, said, “We delivered another solid quarter of EBITDA and EPS growth led by continued gains in both room rates and occupancy. Global RevPAR grew nearly 5% in constant currency, despite a deceleration in the global economy. In fact, occupancy rose in all regions and is now reaching or exceeding peak levels in many markets around the world.”

Key Stats:

The company has now surpassed analyst estimates for four quarters in a row. It beat the mark by 10 cents in the second quarter, by 10 cents in the first quarter, and by 14 cents in the fourth quarter of the last fiscal year.

Revenue has increased for four consecutive quarters. Revenue increased 13.5% to $1.62 billion in the second quarter. The figure rose 32.4% in the first quarter from the year earlier and climbed 14.3% in the fourth quarter of the last fiscal year from the year-ago quarter.

Looking Forward: Analysts appear increasingly negative about the company’s results for the next quarter. The average estimate for the fourth quarter has moved down from 68 cents a share to 67 cents over the last ninety days. Over the past three months, the average estimate for the fiscal year has climbed from $2.51 per to share to $2.54.

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(Company fundamentals provided by Xignite Financials. Earnings estimates provided by Zacks)

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