Post-COVID travel recovery lifts Hilton's fourth quarter income

By Scott Kanowsky

investing.com -- Hilton Worldwide Holdings (NYSE:HLT) reported better-than-expected profit in the fourth quarter, sending shares higher in early U.S. trading on Thursday, as the hotel chain was boosted by an ongoing post-pandemic recovery in travel demand.

When adjusted for special items, net income more than doubled to $434 million during the three months ended on December 31 compared to same period in the prior year, translating to diluted earnings per share of $1.59. Bloomberg consensus estimates had placed the number at $1.22.

The result brought adjusted net income for the 2022 fiscal year up to $1.36B, an annual jump of 132%.

Quarterly comparable group-wide revenue per available room - a key measure of performance often used by hospitality firms - increased by 24.8% on a currency-neutral basis. Meanwhile, the figure gained against pre-COVID levels for the second straight three-month period, rising by 7.5%.

"Our fourth quarter and full year results surpassed our expectations, with fourth quarter system-wide RevPAR meaningfully exceeding the same period in 2019 driven by growth across all segments," said Hilton president and chief executive officer Christopher Nassetta in a statement.

For the current fiscal year, Hilton now expects system-wide RevPAR to add between 4% to 8% versus 2022 on a comparable and currency-neutral basis, while net income is projected to be between $1.38B to $1.45B.

In a note to clients, analysts at Deutsche Bank said the quarterly results and 2023 outlook suggest that "there aren't many tangible signs of a travel slowdown in the near-term radar."