Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAR) today reported third quarter 2021 results.
Anthony Capuano, Chief Executive Officer, said, “We were pleased to see continued meaningful improvement in global trends in the third quarter, despite the impact of the Delta variant during the second half of the quarter. For the quarter, worldwide RevPAR[1] was down 26 percent compared to the 2019 third quarter, a significant improvement from the second quarter RevPAR decline of 44 percent compared to the same quarter in 2019. Third quarter occupancy topped 58 percent, driven largely by continued strength in leisure demand. Average daily rate, which was only 4 percent below 2019 levels for the quarter, has been recovering much more quickly than in the past two downturns.
“Most of our regions saw considerable improvement in RevPAR in the third quarter compared to the second quarter. In our largest region, the U.S. & Canada, third quarter RevPAR came in 20 percent below the same quarter in 2019, compared to down 40 percent in the second quarter versus the same quarter in 2019. Europe saw a dramatic rise in demand in the quarter, as many key international borders opened, with 2021 RevPAR compared to 2019 improving to down 44 percent from down 77 percent in the second quarter. ADR for the region trailed third quarter 2019 levels by just 5 percent.
“Globally, leisure travel generally remained very strong throughout the quarter, while the Delta variant had the most impact on business transient demand. With the worst of the Delta variant wave now hopefully behind us, business transient demand picked up again in October, a trend we expect to continue.
“Throughout the pandemic, we have worked closely with our owners and franchisees to drive revenue and lower costs. And we’re seeing the benefits of this work in our development activity. Third quarter year-to-date room signings, nearly one-third of which were conversions, increased nearly 30 percent year-over-year, and our pipeline remains the largest in the industry. With more than 40 percent of our pipeline rooms in the luxury and upper upscale tiers, we believe we also have the most valuable pipeline in the industry. Finally on the development front, with more clarity around our estimated full year deletions, we now expect 2021 net rooms growth will be approximately 3.5 percent.
“We’re proud of the dedication and perseverance our associates have demonstrated over the past year and a half, as they navigated the most challenging environment we have ever faced. With global trends improving, we believe we are well-positioned for growth as the global recovery continues. We are very optimistic about our future.”
Third Quarter 2021 Results
Marriott’s reported operating income totaled $545 million in the 2021 third quarter, compared to 2020 third quarter reported operating income of $252 million. Reported net income totaled $220 million in the 2021 third quarter, compared to 2020 third quarter reported net income of $100 million. Reported diluted earnings per share (EPS) totaled $0.67 in the quarter, compared to reported diluted EPS of $0.31 in the year-ago quarter.
Adjusted operating income in the 2021 third quarter totaled $527 million, compared to 2020 third quarter adjusted operating income of $179 million. Adjusted operating income in the 2021 third quarter and the 2020 third quarter excluded impairment charges of $11 million and $32 million, respectively.
Third quarter 2021 adjusted net income totaled $327 million, compared to 2020 third quarter adjusted net income of $44 million. Adjusted diluted EPS in the 2021 third quarter totaled $0.99, compared to adjusted diluted EPS of $0.13 in the year-ago quarter. The 2021 third quarter adjusted results excluded a $122 million after-tax ($0.37 per share) loss on the extinguishment of debt and $8 million after-tax ($0.02 per share) of impairment charges. The 2020 third quarter adjusted results excluded $24 million after-tax ($0.07 per share) of impairment charges.
Adjusted results also excluded restructuring and merger-related charges, cost reimbursement revenue, and reimbursed expenses. These items totaled $23 million of after-tax profits ($0.07 per share) in the 2021 third quarter and $80 million of after-tax profits ($0.25 per share) in the 2020 third quarter. See pages A-3 and A-12 for the calculation of adjusted results and the manner in which the adjusted measures are determined in this press release.
Base management and franchise fees totaled $723 million in the 2021 third quarter, compared to base management and franchise fees of $366 million in the year-ago quarter. The year-over-year increase in these fees is primarily attributable to RevPAR increases due to the ongoing recovery in lodging demand. Other non-RevPAR related franchise fees in the 2021 third quarter totaled $173 million, compared to $119 million in the year-ago quarter, aided by higher credit card and residential branding fees.
Incentive management fees totaled $53 million in the 2021 third quarter, compared to $31 million in the 2020 third quarter. Hotels in international markets earned $36 million of the fees in the quarter.
Contract investment amortization for the 2021 third quarter totaled $21 million, compared to $48 million in the year-ago quarter. The year-over-year change largely reflects impairments of investments in management and franchise contracts related to COVID-19 recorded in the 2020 third quarter.
Owned, leased, and other revenue, net of direct expenses, totaled a profit of $37 million in the 2021 third quarter, compared to an $18 million loss in the year-ago quarter, and reflected the ongoing recovery in lodging demand.
Depreciation, amortization, and other expenses for the 2021 third quarter totaled $64 million, compared to $53 million in the year-ago quarter. Expenses in the 2021 third quarter included an $11 million impairment charge.
General, administrative, and other expenses for the 2021 third quarter totaled $212 million, compared to $131 million in the year-ago quarter. The year-over-year increase primarily reflects higher compensation costs compared to 2020 cost reduction measures, which included reducing executive compensation, implementing reduced work weeks for many of our corporate associates, and furloughing a substantial number of associates.
Interest expense, net, totaled $99 million in the third quarter compared to $107 million in the year-ago quarter. The year-over-year decrease is largely due to lower debt balances.
Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) totaled $683 million in the 2021 third quarter, compared to third quarter 2020 adjusted EBITDA of $327 million. See page A-12 for the adjusted EBITDA calculation.
Selected Performance Information
The company added 114 properties (17,456 rooms) to its worldwide lodging portfolio during the 2021 third quarter, including more than 2,200 conversion rooms and approximately 8,500 rooms in international markets. Twenty properties (5,414 rooms) exited the system during the quarter. At quarter end, Marriott’s global lodging system totaled 7,892 properties, with nearly 1,464,000 rooms.
At quarter end, the company’s worldwide development pipeline totaled 2,769 properties with nearly 477,000 rooms, including 1,028 properties with more than 206,000 rooms under construction and 155 properties with roughly 25,000 rooms approved for development, but not yet subject to signed contracts.
In the 2021 third quarter, worldwide RevPAR increased 118.4 percent (a 120.7 percent increase using actual dollars) compared to the 2020 third quarter. RevPAR in the U.S. & Canada increased 134.7 percent (a 135.4 percent increase using actual dollars), and RevPAR in international markets increased 76.3 percent (an 81.8 percent increase using actual dollars).
Balance Sheet and Liquidity
At quarter end, Marriott’s net debt was $9.0 billion, representing total debt of $9.8 billion less cash and equivalents of $0.8 billion. At year-end 2020, the company’s net debt was $9.5 billion, representing total debt of $10.4 billion less cash and equivalents of $0.9 billion.
In the third quarter, the company issued $700 million of Series II Senior Notes due in 2033 with a 2.75 percent interest rate coupon.
In September 2021, Marriott completed a cash tender offer and retired $1.0 billion aggregate principal amount of Series EE Senior Notes maturing in 2025 with a 5.75 percent interest rate coupon. The company used proceeds from the Series II Senior Notes offering and cash on hand to complete the repurchase of such notes, including the payment of accrued interest and other costs incurred.
Investment Spending
Marriott now anticipates that full year 2021 investment spending will total $525 million to $550 million. Total investment spending includes capital and technology expenditures, loan advances, contract acquisition costs, and other investing activities.
COVID-19
Due to the numerous uncertainties associated with COVID-19, Marriott cannot presently estimate the impact of this unprecedented situation on its future results, 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.
Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAR) will conduct its quarterly earnings review for the investment community and news media on Wednesday, November 3, 2021 at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time (ET). The conference call will be webcast simultaneously via Marriott’s investor relations website at http://www.marriott.com/investor, click on “Events & Presentations” and click on the quarterly conference call link. A replay will be available at that same website until November 2, 2022.
The telephone dial-in number for the conference call is 1-203-518-9704 and the conference ID is MAR3Q21. A telephone replay of the conference call will be available from 1:00 p.m. ET, Wednesday, November 3, 2021 until 8:00 p.m. ET, Wednesday, November 10, 2021. To access the replay, call 1-402-220-2693. The conference ID for the recording is MAR3Q21.
[1] All occupancy, ADR and RevPAR statistics are systemwide constant dollar and include hotels that have been temporarily closed due to COVID-19. Unless otherwise stated, all changes refer to year-over-year changes for the comparable period. RevPAR comparisons between 2021 and 2020 reflect properties that are comparable in both years. ADR and RevPAR comparisons between 2021 and 2019 reflect properties that are defined as comparable as of September 30, 2021, even if they were not open and operating for the full year 2019 or they did not meet all the other criteria for comparable in 2019.
