Printer Friendly
The Free Library
19,604,532 articles and books
Member login
User name  
Password 
 
Join us Forgot password?

Ashford Hospitality Trust Reports Third Quarter Results.


Strong RevPAR Growth and Seasonality Impact Results

DALLAS -- Ashford Hospitality Trust, Inc. (NYSE NYSE

See: New York Stock Exchange
:AHT AHT Animal Health Trust (Suffolk, England)
AHT American Hairless Terrier (dog breed)
AHT After Hours Trading
AHT Animal Health Technician
AHT Anchor Handling Tug
) today reported the following results and performance measures for the third quarter ended September 30, 2007. The proforma performance measurements for Occupancy, Average Daily Rate (ADR ADR - Astra Digital Radio ), revenue per available room (RevPAR), and Hotel Operating Profit Operating profit (or loss)

Revenue from a firm's regular activities less costs and expenses and before income deductions.


operating profit

See operating income.
 (or Hotel EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization) A metric used to show a company's profitability, but not its cash flow. EBITDA became popular in the 1980s to show the potential profitability of leveraged buyouts, but has become ) include the Company's 114 hotels owned as of September 30, 2007, which excludes 5 hotel assets held for sale as of that date. Unless otherwise stated, all reported results compare the third quarter ended September 30, 2007 with the third quarter ended September 30, 2006. The reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures is included in the financial tables accompanying this press release.

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

* Total revenue increased 195% to $336.8 million from $114.3 million

* Net loss to common shareholders was $6.6 million, or $0.05 per diluted share

* Adjusted funds from operations Funds From Operations (FFO)

Used by real estate and other investment trusts to define the cash flow from trust operations; earnings with depreciation and amortization added back.
 (AFFO AFFO Adjusted Funds From Operation ), excluding gains on sales, increased 56.1% to $34.9 million, or $0.25 per diluted share

* Seasonality for the portfolio has changed from 24.7% of the Hotel EBITDA being produced in the third quarter last year to 23.0% of the Hotel EBITDA being produced in the third quarter this year because of the acquisition of the CNL CNL CityNightLine (German Rail)
CNL Cancel
CNL Clinical Nurse Leader
Cnl Colonel
CNL Center for Naval Leadership
CNL Compensated Neutron Log (oil industry) 
 portfolio. This change created a $0.04 per share variance for the quarter

* Year to date AFFO per diluted share increased 15.1% to $0.99 from $0.86

* Cash available for distribution (CAD) increased 31% to $25.1 million, or $0.18 per diluted share

* Year to date CAD per diluted share increased to $0.78 from $0.76

* Declared quarterly common dividend of $0.21 per diluted share

* CAD dividend coverage was 124% year to date

STRONG INTERNAL GROWTH

* Proforma RevPAR increased 8.3% for hotels not under renovation on a 5.1% increase in ADR to $134.89 and a 233-basis point improvement in occupancy

* Proforma RevPAR increased 7.4% for all hotels on a 5.4% increase in ADR to $135.27 and a 144-basis point improvement in occupancy

* Proforma same-property Hotel Operating Profit for hotels not under renovation improved 11.7%

* Proforma same-property Hotel Operating Profit margin Operating profit margin

The ratio of operating profit to net sales.
 for hotels not under renovation improved 120 basis points

CAPITAL RECYCLING AND ASSET ALLOCATION Asset Allocation

The process of dividing a portfolio among major asset categories such as bonds, stocks or cash. The purpose of asset allocation is to reduce risk by diversifying the portfolio.
 

* Capex invested in the third quarter totaled $32 million

* Capex for 2007 and 2008 estimated at $280 million for which the Company has adequate resources to fund through continued asset sales, FF&E reserves, and cash flow above our dividend

* Targeted ROI (Return On Investment) The monetary benefits derived from having spent money on developing or revising a system. In the IT world, there are more ways to compute ROI than Carter has liver pills (and for those of you who never heard of that expression, it means a lot).  projects for 2008 should approximate $50 million

* Two hotels sold in the third quarter for $10 million and one subsequent to the end of the quarter for $25 million

PORTFOLIO REVPAR GROWTH

As of September 30, 2007, the Company had a portfolio of direct hotel investments consisting of 114 properties classified in continuing operations continuing operations

Parts of a business that are expected to be maintained as an ongoing segment of an overall business operation. Income and losses from continuing operations are reported separately if any segments have been discontinued during the
. During the third quarter, 106 of the hotels included in continuing operations were not under renovation. The Company believes reporting its operating metrics for continuing operations on a proforma total basis (all 114 hotels) and proforma not-under-renovation basis (106 hotels) is a measure that reflects a meaningful and focused comparison of the operating results in its direct hotel portfolio. The Company's reporting by region and brand includes the results of all 114 hotels. Details of each category are provided in the tables attached to this release.

* RevPAR growth by region was led by: West South Central (12 hotels) with a 10.7% increase; Middle Atlantic Adj. 1. middle Atlantic - of a region of the United States generally including Delaware; Maryland; Virginia; and usually New York; Pennsylvania; New Jersey; "mid-Atlantic states"
mid-Atlantic
 (10) with 9.3%; South Atlantic (42) with 9.2%; New England New England, name applied to the region comprising six states of the NE United States—Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. The region is thought to have been so named by Capt.  (4) with 8.9%; Mountain (8) with 6.5%; Pacific (22) with 6.3%; East South Central (2) with 5.9%; West North Central (3) with 2.4%; East North Central (10) with 1.8%; and Canada (1) with 0.8%

* RevPAR growth by brand was led by: InterContinental (2 hotels) with 13.7%; Hilton (37 hotels) with 9.1%; Marriott (59) with 7.9%; Hyatt (5) with 7.5%; Starwood (7) with 0.1%; Radisson (2) with a 1.6% decrease; and independents (2) with a 19.7% decrease

HOTEL EBITDA MARGINS AND QUARTERLY SEASONALITY TRENDS

For the 106 hotels as of September 30, 2007 that were not under renovation, Proforma Hotel EBITDA (adjusted as if all hotels were included throughout both periods) increased 11.7% to $84.6 million. Proforma Hotel EBITDA margin (expressed as a percentage of Total Hotel Revenue) improved 120 basis points to 26.7%. For all 114 hotels included in continuing operations as of September 30, 2007, Proforma Hotel EBITDA increased 8.8% to $87.9 million and Hotel EBITDA margin increased 74 basis points to 26.0%.

Ashford believes year-over-year Hotel EBITDA and Hotel EBITDA margin comparisons are more meaningful to gauge the performance of the Company's hotels than sequential quarter-over-quarter comparisons. Given the substantial seasonality in the Company's portfolio and its active capital recycling, to help investors better understand this seasonality, the Company provides quarterly detail on its Proforma Hotel EBITDA and Proforma Hotel EBITDA margin for the current and certain prior-year periods based upon the number of core hotels in the portfolio as of the end of the current period. As Ashford's portfolio mix changes from time to time so will the seasonality for Proforma Hotel EBITDA and Proforma Hotel EBITDA margin.

Prior to the acquisition of the 51 CNL assets in April 2007, the Company's third quarter contributed approximately 24.7% of the annual Hotel EBITDA. For the current portfolio of 114 hotels the Company's third quarter now contributes approximately 23.0% of the annual Hotel EBITDA. This 170 basis point change is the equivalent of approximately $0.04 per diluted share. The details of the quarterly calculations for the last four quarters for the current portfolio are provided in the tables attached to this release.

Monty J. Bennett, President and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. , commented, "The internal growth from our portfolio has been a consistent theme for us all year, which was evident once again in the third quarter. With RevPAR growth above the industry average and sustained improvement in operating margins, we are seeing a direct benefit from the previous investments we have made to improve our assets as well as our efforts to concentrate the portfolio in high growth markets with the strongest brands. We intend to place an even greater emphasis on accelerating the returns from some of our recently acquired assets through ROI projects. While we have been pleased with the continued improvement in internal growth, we believe allocating additional capital to several assets in select markets has the potential for even greater returns."

FINANCING ACTIVITY

On July 18, 2007, the Company priced 8,000,000 shares of 8.45% Series D Cumulative Preferred Stock Cumulative preferred stock

Preferred stock whose dividends accrue, should the issuer not make timely dividend payments. Related: Non-cumulative preferred stock.
 at $25.00 per share. The annual distribution for the preferred stock Stock shares that have preferential rights to dividends or to amounts distributable on liquidation, or to both, ahead of common shareholders.

Preferred stock is given preference over common stock. Holders of preferred stock receive dividends at a fixed annual rate.
 is $2.1125 per share, payable quarterly. Ashford used the net proceeds Net Proceeds

The amount received after all costs are deducted from the sale of a piece of property or security.

Notes:
In the case of an investor selling a security, net proceeds represent the proceeds from the sale minus any trading costs (i.e. commissions).
 of the offering to redeem the Company's Series C Preferred Stock.

At September 30, 2007, the Company's net debt (defined as total debt less cash) to total enterprise value (defined as net debt plus the market value of all common shares, preferred shares Preferred shares

Preferred shares give investors a fixed dividend from the company's earnings and entitle them to be paid before common shareholders. See: Preferred stock.
 and operating partnership units outstanding) was 60.5% based upon the Company's closing stock price of $10.05. As of September 30, 2007, the Company's $2.9 billion debt balance consisted of 78% of fixed-rate debt, with a total weighted average interest rate of 6.05%. The Company's weighted average debt maturity including extension options is 7.2 years.

THIRD QUARTER INVESTMENT ACTIVITY

On July 2, 2007, the Company sold the Hampton Inn Horse Cave in Horse Cave, Kentucky Horse Cave is a city in Hart County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 2,252 at the 2000 census. History
The city is best known for the large natural cave opening located on the south side of Main Street, from which the town's name is derived.
, for approximately $3.5 million. On September 27, 2007, the Company sold the Doubletree Guest Suites - Dayton / Miamisburg in Dayton, Ohio Dayton is a city in southwestern Ohio, United States. It is the county seat and largest city of Montgomery County. As of the 2005 census estimate, the population of Dayton was 158,873.  for approximately $6.5 million. In connection with these two sales, the Company recognized a gain of $0.5 million.

SUBSEQUENT INVESTMENT ACTIVITY

On October 2, 2007, the Company sold the Hilton Birmingham Perimeter Park in Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham (pronounced [ˈbɝmɪŋˌhæm]) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Alabama and is the county seat of Jefferson County.  for approximately $25 million.

In November, the Company expects to close the sale of the Residence Inn Atlanta in Atlanta, Georgia and the Residence Inn Torrance in Torrance, California for a total of approximately $61.5 million as well as the sale of the Residence Inn Kansas City Kansas City, two adjacent cities of the same name, one (1990 pop. 149,767), seat of Wyandotte co., NE Kansas (inc. 1859), the other (1990 pop. 435,146), Clay, Jackson, and Platte counties, NW Mo. (inc. 1850).  in Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City is the largest city in the state of Missouri. It encompasses parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest in Missouri, which includes counties in both Missouri and Kansas.  for approximately $7.0 million.

The Company has placed the Marriott BWI BWI
abbr.
British West Indies
 Airport in Baltimore, Maryland "Baltimore" redirects here. For the surrounding county, see Baltimore County, Maryland. For other uses, see Baltimore (disambiguation).
Baltimore is an independent city located in the state of Maryland in the United States.
 under contract for sale for approximately $61.5 million. The sale, subject to customary closing conditions, is expected to close by the end of November.

INVESTMENT OUTLOOK

Mr. Bennett concluded, "While hotel fundamentals remain strong by historical measures, increased volatility exists in the financial markets. Our hotel portfolio and investment strategy are structured to benefit from these changing conditions. The diversified mix of assets offers the best of both worlds, namely value-add internal growth from our upper-upscale hotels and operating resiliency from our high quality select-service upscale and mid-scale without F&B properties. Additionally our capital allocation strategy is taking advantage of changing trends. We are recycling capital through asset sales and reducing debt, or redeploying the proceeds in high ROI internal growth investments as well as our hotel lending program. The company is currently targeting approximately $50 million of value added Value Added

The enhancement a company gives its product or service before offering the product to customers.

Notes:
This can either increase the products price or value.
 ROI capital projects to be completed during 2008. With the widening of lending spreads, we see a growing, though modest, opportunity in our mezzanine lending investment strategy. We remain committed to seeking the best risk adjusted returns for our shareholders."

INVESTOR CONFERENCE CALL AND SIMULCAST

Ashford Hospitality Trust, Inc. will conduct a conference call at 11:00 a.m. ET on November 1, 2007, to discuss the third quarter results. The number to call for this interactive teleconference is (913) 312-1295. A seven-day replay of the conference call will be available by dialing (719) 457-0820 and entering the confirmation number, 2846114.

The Company will also provide an online simulcast and rebroadcast of its third quarter 2007 earnings release conference call. The live broadcast of Ashford's quarterly conference call will be available online at the Company's website at www.ahtreit.com as well as on http://www.videonewswire.com/event.asp?regd=y&id=42633 on Thursday, November 1, 2007, beginning at 11:00 a.m. ET. The online replay will follow shortly after the call and continue for approximately one year.

Substantially all of our non-current assets consist of real estate investments and debt investments secured by real estate. Historical cost accounting for real estate assets implicitly assumes that the value of real estate assets diminishes predictably over time. Since real estate values instead have historically risen or fallen with market conditions, most industry investors consider supplemental measures of performance, which are not measures of operating performance under GAAP GAAP

See: Generally Accepted Accounting Principles


GAAP

See generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP).
, to assist in evaluating a real estate company's operations. These supplemental measures include FFO FFO

See: Funds from operations
, AFFO, EBITDA, Hotel Operating Profit, and CAD. FFO is computed in accordance with our interpretation of standards established by NAREIT NAREIT National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts , which may not be comparable to FFO reported by other REITs that do not define the term in accordance with the current NAREIT definition or that interpret the NAREIT definition differently than us. Neither FFO, AFFO, EBITDA, Hotel Operating Profit, nor CAD represents cash generated from operating activities as determined by GAAP and should not be considered as an alternative to a) GAAP net income (loss) as an indication of our financial performance or b) GAAP cash flows from operating activities as a measure of our liquidity, nor are such measures indicative of funds available to satisfy our cash needs, including our ability to make cash distributions. However, management believes FFO, AFFO, EBITDA, Hotel Operating Profit, and CAD to be meaningful measures of a REIT's performance and should be considered along with, but not as an alternative to, net income and cash flow as a measure of our operating performance.

Ashford Hospitality Trust is a self-administered real estate investment trust focused on investing in the hospitality industry across all segments and at all levels of the capital structure, including direct hotel investments, first mortgages, mezzanine loans and sale-leaseback transactions. Additional information can be found on the Company's web site at www.ahtreit.com.

Certain statements and assumptions in this press release contain or are based upon "forward-looking" information and are being made pursuant to the safe harbor Safe Harbor

1. A legal provision to reduce or eliminate liability as long as good faith is demonstrated.

2. A form of shark repellent implemented by a target company acquiring a business that is so poorly regulated that the target itself is less attractive.
 provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (PSLRA) implemented several significant substantive changes affecting certain cases brought under the federal securities laws, including changes related to pleading, discovery, liability, class representation and awards fees and  of 1995. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties. When we use the words "will likely result," "may," "anticipate," "estimate," "should," "expect," "believe," "intend," or similar expressions, we intend to identify forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the timing for closing, the impact of the transaction on our business and future financial condition, our business and investment strategy, our understanding of our competition and current market trends and opportunities and projected capital expenditures. Such statements are subject to numerous assumptions and uncertainties, many of which are outside Ashford's control.

These forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated, including, without limitation: general volatility of the capital markets and the market price of our common stock; changes in our business or investment strategy; availability, terms and deployment of capital; availability of qualified personnel; changes in our industry and the market in which we operate, interest rates or the general economy; and the degree and nature of our competition. These and other risk factors are more fully discussed in Ashford's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. EBITDA is defined as net income before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. EBITDA yield is defined as trailing twelve month EBITDA divided by the purchase price. A capitalization rate Capitalization Rate

According to the Appraisal Institute, it is a method used to convert an estimate of a single year's income expectancy into an indication of value in one direct step, by dividing the income estimate by an appropriate rate.
 is determined by dividing the property's annual net operating income Operating Income

The profit realized from a business' own operations.

Notes:
This would not include income from things such as investments in other firms. Also referred to as operating profit or recurring profit.
 by the purchase price. Net operating income is the property's funds from operations minus a capital expense reserve of either 4% or 5% of gross revenues. Funds from operations ("FFO"), as defined by the White Paper on FFO approved by the Board of Governors of the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts ("NAREIT") in April 2002, represents net income (loss) computed in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles The standard accounting rules, regulations, and procedures used by companies in maintaining their financial records.

Generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) provide companies and accountants with a consistent set of guidelines that cover both broad accounting
 ("GAAP"), excluding gains (or losses) from sales or properties and extraordinary items as defined by GAAP, plus depreciation and amortization of real estate assets, and net of adjustments for the portion of these items related to unconsolidated entities and joint ventures.

The forward-looking statements included in this press release are only made as of the date of this press release. Investors should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. We are not obligated ob·li·gate  
tr.v. ob·li·gat·ed, ob·li·gat·ing, ob·li·gates
1. To bind, compel, or constrain by a social, legal, or moral tie. See Synonyms at force.

2. To cause to be grateful or indebted; oblige.
 to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or circumstances, changes in expectations or otherwise.
[TABLE OMITTED]
[TABLE OMITTED]
[TABLE OMITTED]
[TABLE OMITTED]
[TABLE OMITTED]
[TABLE OMITTED]
[TABLE OMITTED]
[TABLE OMITTED]
[TABLE OMITTED]
[TABLE OMITTED]
[TABLE OMITTED]
[TABLE OMITTED]
[TABLE OMITTED]
COPYRIGHT 2007 Business Wire
No portion of this article can be reproduced without the express written permission from the copyright holder.
Copyright 2007, Gale Group. All rights reserved.

 Reader Opinion

Title:

Comment:



 

Article Details
Printer friendly Cite/link Email Feedback
Publication:Business Wire
Date:Oct 31, 2007
Words:2474
Previous Article:International Builders' Show Bucks Trend of Housing Downturn.
Next Article:Woodward Schedules Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2007 Earnings Release and Conference Call.
Topics:



Related Articles
Hospitality Properties Trust Third Quarter Conference Call Scheduled for Wednesday, November 7th.
POZEN Reports Third Quarter Results.
The Washington Post Company Reports Third Quarter Earnings.
MOCON Announces Third Quarter Revenues and Net Income.
Gaylord Entertainment Co. Reports Third Quarter 2007 Earnings.
RADVISION Reports Third Quarter 2007 Results.
Trump Entertainment Resorts Reports Third Quarter 2007 Results.
Pacific Capital Bancorp Reports Third Quarter Financial Results.
Sims Group earns healthy profit.
Peapack-Gladstone Financial Corporation Reports Increase in Third Quarter Earnings.

Terms of use | Copyright © 2012 Farlex, Inc. | Feedback | For webmasters | Submit articles