Hilton Hotels’ profit falls 29 percent

August 02, 2006

Second-quarter earnings at Hilton Hotels Corp. failed to meet expectations Tuesday due mainly to renovations at key properties despite a jump in revenue driven by higher room prices.

Still, shares of the Beverly Hills-based company rose on an improved outlook for the remainder of the year.

Hilton reported net income of $144 million, or 35 cents per share, in the three months ended June 30, down from $202 million, or 49 cents per share, a year earlier.
Excluding one-time gains related to tax benefits, second-quarter profit was 32 cents per share, compared to 27 cents a year ago.

Revenue rose to $2.2 billion from $1.18 billion a year earlier.

Analysts projected earnings of 34 cents per share on sales of $2.21 billion, according to Thomson Financial.

“All three parts of our company—the hotels we own, our management and franchise fee business, and our timeshare operations—continue to perform extremely well as our unparalleled collection of respected brands remain the first choices for the world’s travelers and hotel owners,” Stephen Bollenbach, co-chairman and chief executive, said in a statement.