From Pacific Business News (Honolulu)
Hilton Hotels Corp. has posted a 15 percent higher spring quarter profit of $165 million, but says Hawaii operations did not lead the increase this time.
Beverly Hills-based Hilton (NYSE: HLT) said revpar -- revenue per available room -- was up 8.9 percent worldwide and 9.8 percent in North America compared to the second quarter last year. Overall company revenue grew 4 percent.
"Particularly strong revpar growth was reported at the company's owned hotels in New York and San Francisco, while the Hawaii market was soft during the quarter," Hilton said Tuesday.
This was the case despite the fact that the Hilton Hawaiian Village was one of its O&O properties coming out at the end of renovation activity that took a lot of rooms out of service earlier.
Hilton Grand Vacations Co., the vacation ownership division, reported a 21 percent decline in profitability during the second quarter.
"Unit sales declined 9 percent, however average unit sales prices increased 35 percent over last year, with the increase driven by new projects in Hawaii," Hilton said.
The quarter at a glance:
* Revenue: $2.085 billion. Year before: $2.005 billion.
* Net income: $165 million. Year before: $144 million.
* Per share: 40 cents. Year before: 35 cents.
The profit was about a nickel a share better than the consensus forecast of analysts.
Hilton recently announced agreement to be acquired for $26 billion by The Blackstone Group.
