Marriott International posts Q3 2023 results

“We are extremely pleased with our results in the quarter. Worldwide RevPAR grew 9 per cent year over year, reflecting robust demand around the world. International RevPAR increased 22 per cent, with particular strength in Asia Pacific. Both occupancy and rate contributed to global RevPAR gains in the third quarter, and cross-border travel continued to rise,” says Anthony Capuano, president and chief executive officer.

“In the U.S. & Canada, RevPAR rose more than 4 per cent, with many urban markets showing outsized growth. Group and business transient saw mid-single digit hotel revenue gains in the quarter, largely driven by rate increases. Leisure transient demand in the region has also remained solid, leading to 4 per cent hotel revenue growth for the segment compared to the year-ago quarter.

“Given the meaningful benefits we deliver to owners, demand for our brands remains strong. Through the first three quarters of 2023, we’ve signed more than 100,000 organic rooms, including the MGM Resorts International deal, an impressive 60 per cent increase compared to the same period last year. Even with 5 per cent net rooms growth in the last four quarters, our development pipeline continues to grow. Of our record 557,000-room pipeline, 43 per cent is under construction.

“With continued momentum in our business around the world, we are raising our full year 2023 worldwide RevPAR growth guidance to 14 to 15 per cent year over year and expect to return $4.3 billion to $4.5 billion to shareholders through share repurchases and dividends.”

Third Quarter 2023 Results

Marriott’s reported operating income totaled $1,099 million in the 2023 third quarter, compared to 2022 third quarter reported operating income of $958 million. Reported net income totaled $752 million in the 2023 third quarter, compared to 2022 third quarter reported net income of $630 million. Reported diluted earnings per share (EPS) totaled $2.51 in the quarter, compared to reported diluted EPS of $1.94 in the year-ago quarter.

Adjusted operating income in the 2023 third quarter totaled $959 million, compared to 2022 third quarter adjusted operating income of $815 million. Third quarter 2023 adjusted net income totaled $634 million, compared to 2022 third quarter adjusted net income of $551 million. Adjusted diluted EPS in the 2023 third quarter totaled $2.11, compared to adjusted diluted EPS of $1.69 in the year-ago quarter. The 2023 third quarter adjusted results excluded a $24 million ($16 million after-tax and $0.05 per share) gain on the sale of a hotel in the Caribbean & Latin America (CALA) region. The 2022 third quarter adjusted results excluded special tax items of $30 million ($0.09 per share) and a $2 million ($2 million after-tax and $0.01 per share) gain on an investee’s property sale.

Base management and franchise fees totaled $1,054 million in the 2023 third quarter, an 11 per cent increase compared to base management and franchise fees of $953 million in the year-ago quarter. The increase is primarily attributable to RevPAR increases and unit growth. Non-RevPAR-related franchise fees in the 2023 third quarter totaled $208 million, an 8 per cent increase compared to $192 million in the year-ago quarter, largely driven by higher co-brand credit card fees.

Incentive management fees totaled $143 million in the 2023 third quarter, a 35 per cent increase compared to $106 million in the 2022 third quarter. Managed hotels in international markets contributed 77 per cent of the incentive fees earned in the quarter.

Owned, leased, and other revenue, net of direct expenses, totaled $70 million in the 2023 third quarter, compared to $44 million in the year-ago quarter. Results in the 2022 quarter included a $19 million expense accrual related to a portfolio of 12 leased hotels in the U.S. & Canada. General, administrative, and other expenses for the 2023 third quarter totaled $239 million, compared to $216 million in the year-ago quarter. The year-over-year change largely reflects higher staffing levels.

Gains and other income, net, totaled $28 million, compared to $3 million in the 2022 third quarter. Gains and other income, net, in the 2023 third quarter primarily reflected a $24 million gain associated with the sale of a hotel in the CALA region. Interest expense, net, totaled $139 million in the 2023 third quarter, compared to $93 million in the year-ago quarter. The increase was largely due to higher interest expense associated with higher debt balances.

Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) totaled $1,142 million in the 2023 third quarter, compared to third quarter 2022 adjusted EBITDA of $985 million. See page A-11 for the adjusted EBITDA calculation.

Selected Performance Information

Marriott added 97 properties (17,192 rooms) to its worldwide lodging portfolio during the 2023 third quarter, including roughly 13,000 rooms in international markets and more than 4,900 conversion rooms. Eleven properties (1,494 rooms) exited the system during the quarter. At the end of the quarter, Marriott’s global lodging system totaled nearly 8,700 properties, with approximately 1,581,000 rooms.

At the end of the quarter, the company’s worldwide development pipeline totaled 3,239 properties with nearly 557,000 rooms, including 242 properties with roughly 40,300 rooms approved for development, but not yet subject to signed contracts. The pipeline includes 1,081 properties with approximately 238,000 rooms under construction, or 43 percent, including approximately 37,000 rooms from the MGM deal.

In the 2023 third quarter, worldwide RevPAR increased 8.8 percent (an 8.7 per cent increase using actual dollars) compared to the 2022 third quarter. RevPAR in the U.S. & Canada increased 4.3 per cent (a 4.2 per cent increase using actual dollars), and RevPAR in international markets increased 21.8 pe rcent (a 22.0 per cent increase using actual dollars).

Balance Sheet & Common Stock

At the end of the quarter, Marriott’s total debt was $11.8 billion and cash and equivalents totaled $0.7 billion, compared to $10.1 billion in debt and $0.5 billion of cash and equivalents at year-end 2022. Year to date through October 31, the company has repurchased 18.3 million shares for $3.3 billion.

In the third quarter, the company issued $450 million of Series LL Senior Notes due in 2026 with a 5.45 per cent interest rate coupon and $700 million of Series MM Senior Notes due in 2028 with a 5.55 per cent interest rate coupon.

Company Outlook

Marriott anticipates that the 37,000 rooms related to its deal with MGM will now be added to its distribution in early 2024. As such, the company now expects full year 2023 net rooms growth of 4.2 to 4.5 per cent, higher than its August 2, 2023 guidance when excluding the MGM rooms.