UPDATE: Hilton Worldwide Posts Upbeat Q3 Earnings, Lifts Forecast

Hilton Worldwide Holdings

reported better-than-expected third-quarter profit and lifted its forecast for the year. The McLean, Virginia-based company posted a quarterly profit of $183 million, or $0.19 per share, versus a year-ago profit of $200 million, or $0.22 per share. Excluding special items, the company earned $0.18 per share. Hilton Worldwide had expected adjusted earnings of $0.15 to $0.17 per share. Its revenue climbed 8% to $2.64 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.17 per share on revenue of $2.61 billion. For the quarter, Hilton Worldwide's revenue per available room climbed 8.4%, while US comparable RevPAR gained 8.8%. Its expenses increased 5.1% to $2.2 billion in the quarter. Systemwide occupancy rose 3.1 percentage points to 79% in the quarter, while average daily rates rose 4.2% to $142.51. Adjusted EBITDA rose more than 13% to $645 million. Hilton opened more than 12,000 rooms in the quarter for a total of around 30,000 rooms through September 2014. Christopher J. Nassetta, President & Chief Executive Officer of Hilton Worldwide, said, "We had yet another strong quarter that exceeded our expectations for RevPAR, EPS and Adjusted EBITDA growth, and as a result, we have increased our outlook for the year.” For the fourth quarter, the company expected adjusted earnings of $0.16 to $0.18 per share, versus analysts' estimates of $0.18 per share. It also projects revenue per available room to rise 6% to 7%. Hilton Worldwide now projects full-year adjusted earnings of $0.69 to $0.71 per share, versus its earlier outlook of $0.67 to $0.70 per share. Hilton Worldwide shares rose 1.83% to close at $25.01 yesterday.