Marriott: Q2 2020 results dramatically impacted by COVID-19 pandemic

Marriott: Q2 2020 results dramatically impacted by COVID-19 pandemic
Marriott: Q2 2020 results dramatically impacted by COVID-19 pandemic
Avatar of Harry Johnson
Written by Harry Johnson

Marriott International, Inc. today reported second quarter 2020 results, which were dramatically impacted by the COVID-19 global pandemic and efforts to contain it (COVID-19).

Arne M. Sorenson, president and chief executive officer of Marriott International, said, “While our business continues to be profoundly impacted by COVID-19, we are seeing steady signs of demand returning.ย  Worldwide RevPAR has climbed steadily since its low point of down 90 percent for the month of April, to a decline of 70 percent for the month of July. Worldwide occupancy rates, which bottomed at 11 percent for the week ended April 11, have improved each week, reaching nearly 34 percent for the week ended August 1. ย Currently, 91 percent of our worldwide hotels are now open compared to 74 percent in April, and 96 percent are open today in North America.

Greater China continues to lead the recovery.ย  As of early May, all our hotels in the region are open, and occupancy levels are now reaching 60 percent, compared to 70 percent the same time last year, and a marked improvement from single-digit levels in February.ย  While Greater China’s recovery was originally led by demand from leisure travelers, particularly in resorts and drive-to destinations, we are now seeing more widespread business demand, including some group activity.

“The improvement we have seen in Greater China exemplifies the resilience of travel demand once there is a view that the virus is under control and travel restrictions have eased.ย  Our other regions around the world have also experienced steady improvements in demand and RevPAR over the last couple of months, though the pace varies and tends to be slower in regions that depend more on international travelers. ย 

“Over the last few months, we have moved quickly and decisively to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on our business.ย  We have implemented measures to help our owners manage through the crisis and strengthened our financial position by increasing our liquidity, extending our average debt maturity, and reducing our cash outlays significantly.

“Our pipeline remains strong with approximately 510,000 rooms, 45 percent of which are under construction.ย  We are gratified to see owners continuing to choose our brands.ย  In the first half of the year, we signed 30 percent more deals in the Asia Pacific region than we did in the same period last year.ย  By the end of the second quarter, our rooms distribution around the world had grown by 4.1 percent, net, compared to one year prior.ย  With the restrictions related to the pandemic slowing construction timelines, there is uncertainty surrounding future rooms growth.ย  Given current trends, we estimate rooms could grow by 2 to 3 percent, net, for the full year.

“While the full recovery from COVID-19 will clearly take time, the current trends we are seeing reinforce our view that when people feel safe traveling, demand returns quickly.ย  My thoughts continue to be with all who have been impacted by the pandemic.”

Second Quarter 2020 Results

Marriott’s reported operating loss totaled $154 million in the 2020 second quarter, compared to 2019 second quarter reported operating income of $409 million.ย  Reported net loss totaled $234 million in the 2020 second quarter, compared to 2019 second quarter reported net income of $232 million.ย  Reported diluted loss per share totaled $0.72 in the quarter, compared to reported diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.69 in the year-ago quarter.ย  Reported results in the 2020 second quarter included impairment charges and bad debt expense of $77 million pretax ($61 million after-tax and $0.19 per share), related to COVID-19.

Adjusted operating loss in the 2020 second quarter totaled $109 million, compared to 2019 second quarter adjusted operating income of $786 million.ย  Adjusted operating loss in the 2020 second quarter included impairment charges and bad debt expense of $60 million, related to COVID-19.

Second quarter 2020 adjusted net loss totaled $210 million, compared to 2019 second quarter adjusted net income of $525 million.ย  Adjusted diluted loss per share in the second quarter totaled $0.64, compared to adjusted diluted EPS of $1.56 in the year-ago quarter.ย  These 2020 second quarter adjusted results included impairment charges and bad debt expense of $54 million after-tax ($0.17 per share), related to COVID-19.ย  Adjusted results exclude restructuring and merger-related charges, cost reimbursement revenue, and reimbursed expenses.ย  See page A-3 for the calculation of adjusted results.

Base management and franchise fees totaled $222 million in the 2020 second quarter, compared to base management and franchise fees of $834 million in the year-ago quarter.ย  The year-over-year decline in these fees is primarily attributable to RevPAR declines related to COVID-19 and a decrease in other non-RevPAR related franchise fees.ย  Other non-RevPAR related franchises fees in the 2020 second quarter of $107 million declined $39 million compared to the year-ago quarter, largely due to lower credit card branding fees.

Incentive management fees totaled $12 million in the 2020 second quarter, compared to incentive management fees of $165 million in the year-ago quarter.ย  The year-over-year decline in these fees is primarily attributable to lower net house profits at many hotels related to COVID-19.ย  Most of the incentive management fees recognized in the quarter were earned at hotels in the Asia Pacific region.ย ย ย ย 

Contract investment amortization for the 2020 second quarter totaled $21 million, compared to $15 million in the year-ago quarter.ย  The year-over-year change largely reflects impairments of investments in management and franchise contracts.

Owned, leased, and other revenue, net of direct expenses, totaled a $72 million loss in the 2020 second quarter, compared to $87 million of profit in the year-ago quarter as a result of RevPAR declines related to COVID-19.

Depreciation, amortization, and other expenses for the 2020 second quarter totaled $72 million, compared to $56 million in the year-ago quarter.ย  The year-over-year change largely reflects a $15 million impairment charge related to COVID-19 associated with several limited-service leased hotels in North America and impairments of investments in management and franchise contracts.

General, administrative, and other expenses for the 2020 second quarter totaled $178 million, compared to $229 million in the year-ago quarter.ย  Expenses in the 2020 second quarter reflect the company’s cost reduction efforts and include $34 million of bad debt expense due to higher projected losses related to COVID-19.ย 

Restructuring and merger-related charges totaled $6 million in the second quarter compared to $173 million in the second quarter of 2019.ย  Charges in the second quarter of 2019 reflected a $126 million non-tax deductible accrual for the fine proposed by the U.K. Information Commissioner’s Office in July 2019 in relation to the data security incident and a $34 million asset impairment for a legacy-Starwood office building.

Interest expense, net, totaled $119 million in the second quarter compared to $96 million in the year-ago quarter.ย  The increase is largely due to higher debt balances.

Equity in losses for the second quarter totaled $30 million, largely reflecting the decline in results at joint venture properties due to COVID-19 and an $8 million asset impairment.

Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) totaled $61 million in the 2020 second quarter, compared to second quarter 2019 adjusted EBITDA of $952 million.ย  Second quarter 2020 adjusted EBITDA included $36 million of bad debt expense related to COVID-19.ย  See page A-11 for the adjusted EBITDA calculation.

Selected Performance Information

The company added 75 new properties (11,407 rooms) to its worldwide lodging portfolio during the 2020 second quarter, including roughly 2,000 rooms converted from competitor brands and approximately 4,700 rooms in international markets.ย  Eleven properties (2,669 rooms) exited the system during the quarter.ย  At quarter-end, Marriott’s global lodging system totaled roughly 7,500 properties and timeshare resorts, with nearly 1,401,000 rooms.

At quarter-end, the company’s worldwide development pipeline totaled 2,997 properties with approximately 510,000 rooms, including 1,240 properties with over 230,000 rooms under construction and 164 properties with roughly 28,000 rooms approved for development, but not yet subject to signed contracts.

In the 2020 second quarter, worldwide RevPAR declined 84.4 percent (an 84.6 percent decline using actual dollars). ย North American RevPAR declined 83.6 percent (an 83.6 percent decline using actual dollars), and international RevPAR declined 86.7 percent (an 87.1 percent decline using actual dollars).

Balance Sheet and Liquidity

At quarter-end, Marriott’s total debt was $11.8 billion and cash balances totaled $2.3 billion, compared to $10.9 billion in debt and $225 million of cash at year-end 2019.

In the second quarter, the company issued $1.6 billion of Series EE Senior Notes due in 2025 with a 5.75 percent interest rate coupon and $1.0 billion of Series FF Senior Notes due in 2030 with a 4.625 percent interest rate coupon.ย  In early May, Marriott raised $920 million in additional liquidity through amendments to its co-brand credit card agreements with JPMorgan Chase & Co. and American Express.

In June 2020, Marriott completed a cash tender offer and retired $853 million aggregate principal amount of Senior Notes maturing in 2022. ย The company used proceeds from the Series FF Senior Notes offering to complete the repurchase of such notes, including the payment of accrued interest and other costs incurred.

The company’s net liquidity was approximately $4.4 billion as of the end of the second quarter, representing roughly $2.3 billion in cash and cash equivalents, and $2.9 billion of unused borrowing capacity under its revolving credit facility, less $0.8 billion of commercial paper outstanding.ย 

The company halted share repurchases in February of this year and suspended its quarterly dividend beginning in the second quarter.

COVID-19

Due to the numerous uncertainties associated with COVID-19, Marriott cannot presently estimate the financial impact of this unprecedented situation, which is highly dependent on the severity and duration of the pandemic and its impacts, but expects that COVID-19 will continue to be material to the company’s results.ย 

The company expects to provide additional information about the current impact of COVID-19 on its business on its call later this morning.

#rebuildingtravel

About the author

Avatar of Harry Johnson

Harry Johnson

Harry Johnson has been the assignment editor for eTurboNews for mroe than 20 years. He lives in Honolulu, Hawaii, and is originally from Europe. He enjoys writing and covering the news.

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