Marriott International’s completed acquisition of the City Express brand portfolio from Hoteles City Express, S.A.B. de C.V., which took place on May 1, was a much-discussed topic on the company’s Q1 earnings call, but it was the mention of a new brand that was the most interesting bit of news on the call.
“Here in the U.S., we're just a few weeks away from announcing simple modern, streamlined, new-build extended-stay product,” said Anthony Capuano, Marriott’s president and CEO. “It has very basic services and amenities for those looking for longer stays at a midscale price point and you should expect to hear more about that in the coming weeks.”
As for City Express, Capuano said Marriott is “knee deep in exploring the applicability of the City Express platform and its growth potential in other markets around the world.”
“We're pleased to close the City Express transaction just yesterday, welcoming roughly 17,000 rooms in the Caribbean and Latin American region, or CALA, into our portfolio,” he said. “City Express is an incredible launchpad to jumpstart our entry into the high-growth, moderately priced midscale space. We see meaningful opportunity to expand the brand in CALA as well as in other locations around the world.”
During the call, Capuano said the company is off to a great start in 2023, with worldwide revenue per available room growing 34 percent year over year with meaningful gains in both occupancy and average daily rate. International markets were particularly robust, he said, with RevPAR growth of 63 percent. The lifting of travel restrictions throughout Asia Pacific, particularly in Greater China, significantly boosted first quarter demand in the region.
“In the U.S. & Canada, we saw solid demand across the leisure and group segments in the quarter, while business transient demand continued to improve,” Capuano said. “ADR in the region rose 10 percent year over year, aided by higher special corporate negotiated rates and 15 percent growth in group ADR.
Marriott’s pipeline grew to approximately 502,000 rooms, up 2.6 percent from the year-ago quarter end. Conversion activity accounted for 29 percent of rooms signed and 25 percent of rooms opened in the quarter. The company expects net rooms growth of 4 to 4.5 percent for full year 2023.
First Quarter 2023 Results
Marriott’s reported operating income totaled $951 million in the 2023 first quarter, compared to 2022 first quarter reported operating income of $558 million. Reported net income totaled $757 million in the 2023 first quarter, compared to 2022 first quarter reported net income of $377 million. Reported diluted earnings per share totaled $2.43 in the quarter, compared to reported diluted EPS of $1.14 in the year-ago quarter.
Adjusted operating income in the 2023 first quarter totaled $941 million, compared to 2022 first quarter adjusted operating income of $605 million. First quarter 2023 adjusted net income totaled $648 million, compared to 2022 first quarter adjusted net income of $413 million. Adjusted diluted EPS in the 2023 first quarter totaled $2.09, compared to adjusted diluted EPS of $1.25 in the year-ago quarter. The 2023 first quarter adjusted results excluded a special tax item of $100 million ($0.32 per share). The 2022 first quarter adjusted results excluded $11 million after-tax ($0.03 per share) of impairment charges and a $6 million after-tax ($0.02 per share) gain on an investee’s property sale.
Base management and franchise fees totaled $932 million in the 2023 first quarter, a 31 percent increase compared to base management and franchise fees of $713 million in the year-ago quarter. The increase is primarily attributable to RevPAR increases and unit growth. Other non-RevPAR related franchise fees in the 2023 first quarter totaled $197 million, a 16 percent increase compared to $170 million in the year-ago quarter, largely driven by higher co-branded credit card and residential branding fees.
Incentive management fees totaled $201 million in the 2023 first quarter, a 97 percent increase compared to $102 million in the 2022 first quarter. Managed hotels in international markets contributed 57 percent of the fees earned in the quarter.
Owned, leased, and other revenue, net of direct expenses, totaled $75 million in the 2023 first quarter, compared to $65 million in the year-ago quarter. The year-over-year change largely reflects improved performance at owned and leased hotels, partially offset by the $33 million of government subsidies received in the year ago quarter.
General, administrative, and other expenses for the 2023 first quarter totaled $202 million, a 3 percent decrease compared to $208 million in the year-ago quarter.
Interest expense, net, totaled $111 million in the 2023 first quarter, compared to $88 million in the year-ago quarter. The increase was largely due to higher interest expense associated with higher debt balances.
In the 2023 first quarter, the provision for income taxes totaled $87 million, a 10 percent effective rate, compared to $99 million, a 21 percent effective rate, in the year ago quarter. The 2023 first quarter provision included a $103 million benefit primarily from the release of reserves due to the completion of a prior year tax audit.
Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization totaled $1,098 million in the 2023 first quarter, compared to first quarter 2022 adjusted EBITDA of $759 million.
Selected Performance Information
The company added 79 properties (11,015 rooms) to its worldwide lodging portfolio during the 2023 first quarter, including more than 2,700 rooms converted from competitor brands and roughly 5,800 rooms in international markets. Fourteen properties (2,351 rooms) exited the system during the quarter. At the end of the quarter, Marriott’s global lodging system totaled nearly 8,400 properties, with over 1,534,000 rooms.
At the end of the quarter, the company’s worldwide development pipeline totaled 3,060 properties with approximately 502,000 rooms, including 1,018 properties with roughly 200,000 rooms under construction, or 40 percent of the pipeline, and 127 properties with more than 21,000 rooms approved for development, but not yet subject to signed contracts.
In the 2023 first quarter, worldwide RevPAR increased 34.3 percent (a 32.6 percent increase using actual dollars) compared to the 2022 first quarter. RevPAR in the U.S. & Canada increased 25.6 percent (a 25.4 percent increase using actual dollars), and RevPAR in international markets increased 63.1 percent (a 55.1 percent increase using actual dollars).
Balance Sheet and Common Stock
At the end of the quarter, Marriott’s total debt was $10.7 billion and cash and equivalents totaled $0.6 billion, compared to $10.1 billion in debt and $0.5 billion of cash and equivalents at year-end 2022.
In the first quarter, the company issued $800 million of Series KK Senior Notes due in 2029 with a 4.9 percent interest rate coupon.
Year to date through April 28, the company has repurchased 8.2 million shares for $1.4 billion.
Company Outlook
The company is raising its guidance for full year 2023. One month into the second quarter, global booking trends remain robust.
Given short-term booking windows and a high level of macroeconomic uncertainty, there is less visibility in forecasting the company’s financial performance for the second half of 2023.