Hilton reports higher 2Q profit

Hilton reports higher 2Q profit

	Published : Tue, 31 Jul 2007 21:36 By : Agencies Print this Story

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Hilton Hotels Corp. reported strong earnings growth Tuesday in the second quarter as it prepared to be acquired by the Blackstone Group.

The worldwide hotel and resort company reported net income of $165 million, or 40 cents a share, for the quarter ended June 30, up from $144 million, or 35 cents per share, in the same period last year.

Revenue increased to $2.085 billion from $2.005 billion in the year-ago period.

Excluding one-time items, earnings per share increased to 38 cents for the quarter, the company said.

The results beat expectations from analysts, who had been looking for earnings of 33 cents per share and revenue of $2.07 billion, according to Thomson Financial.

Worldwide, revenue per available room, a key measure in the lodging industry, grew 8.9 percent due to rate increases and strong demand, the company said.

Management and franchise fees increased 16 percent to $201 million in the quarter. Revenue and profit also increased at the hotels owned by the company.

Shares of Hilton fell 32 cents to $44.21 in late afternoon trading Tuesday.

'Our operations continue to be very strong across the board,' Matthew J. Hart, Hilton's president and chief operating officer said in a statement.

In the second quarter, the company added 71 properties and 9,436 rooms to its system, including new Hilton hotels in Dallas, New Orleans, Limerick, Ireland, Venice, Italy, and Valencia, Spain.

Hilton's worldwide system, which includes the Doubletree, Hampton Inn and Embassy Suites brands, consisted of 2,896 properties and 490,438 rooms at the end of the quarter, the company said.

The company said Tuesday its deal to be acquired by Blackstone for $20.1 billion in cash was on track to be complete in the fourth quarter. Counting assumed debt, the total deal is valued at $26 billion.

For the first six months of the year, Hilton reported net income of $260 million, or 63 cents per share, compared to $248 million, or 61 cents per share, in the same period last year.

Revenue increased to $3.95 billion from $3.45 billion in the year-ago period.