Hilton Profit Dips on Renovations

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Hilton Hotels Corp. reported first-quarter net income of $95 million (23 cents a share), a 9 percent dip from $104 million (26 cents) from the same period a year earlier. That was better than the expectations of most analysts, who had projected 18 cents per share, according to a Bloomberg News poll.


Revenues for the Beverly Hills-based hotel owner and operator were up 29 percent to $1.9 billion, helped by a 9 percent hike in revenue per room in Europe and Asia. Hotel renovations in New York and higher insurance expenses due to Hurricane Katrina hurt profits, the company said.


Hilton also agreed last month to sell its 132-hotel Scandic chain to Swedish buyout firm EQT for $1.1 billion, which will reduce profit by 10 cents per share for the year, the company added.


Hilton said it now anticipates net income for 2007 to come in between $1.18 and $1.24 per share on revenue between $8 billion and $8.1 billion, slightly lower than its previous forecast of $1.20 to $1.30 per share on revenue of $8.89 billion to $9.05 billion.


Shares in Hilton were down 56 cents, or 1.6 percent, to $34.76 in afternoon trading Monday on the New York Stock Exchange.

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